Academic literature on the topic 'Puerto Rican Decimas'

Abstract Background: Puerto Ricans have the highest likelihood of psychiatric disorders among Latinos. This study developed and evaluated a prototype depression literacy curriculum; culturally grounded with perspectives and narratives of Puerto Rican older adults. The way a person determines need for services and decides to seek help has been found to be influenced by their perceptions of services and providers. McGuire (1989) presents the Communication Persuasion Model (CPM) that takes into account how persuasive communication changes attitudes and behaviors of consumers. Using the CPM as a theoretical foundation, this study presented a culturally grounded story through a Virtual Reality (VR) platform. Methods: A script was developed based on narratives of Puerto Rican older adults about depression. Filmed in 360° format and enhanced with supporting imagery, participants were presented two versions of the video, one with a VR headset and the other with a smartphone. Two focus group interviews were conducted with community-dwelling Puerto Rican older adults (n=14) in Orlando, FL. Results: Participants preferred the VR headset and found it was beneficial to educate about depression because it felt more immersive and encouraged an environment conducive to identifying their own experiences about depression. They noted that presenting the material with a case narrative was more culturally sensitive for the population. All participants needed minor assistance with operating technology. Conclusions and Implications: A narrative approach to depression literacy may be effective in personalizing messages. Assisted VR technology with supporting imagery may be efficacious and standardize positive messages to underrepresented and low resource populations.

Bea is a young Puerto Rican university student living in San Juan. Despite her efforts, her professional and personal life seem to have deteriorated. She has broken up with her boyfriend and the relationship with her parents is getting worse. Besides, she dreams of travelling, but she doesn’t have the money to do so. She decides to go to see several mediums in order to understand why everything is going wrong. She will find the answers to her questions through Pedro, a Peruvian-born medium based in San Juan, who will encourage her to take part in a spiritual cleansing ritual to expel the negative energies which prevent her from being completely happy. More precisely, Pedro will organise a ritual made up of three phases: a spiritual cleansing with a white dove, a purification ritual in a tropical river and an offering to the sea. At the end of the film, Bea will have to spiritually purify her own house by going into all the rooms with a white dove.