ORIGINAL PAPER Knowledge and Misconceptions Regarding Upper Respiratory Infections and Influenza Among Urban Hispanic Households: Need for Targeted Messaging Elaine Larson Æ Yu-Hui Ferng Æ Jennifer Wong Æ Maria Alvarez-Cid Æ Angela Barrett Æ Maria J. Gonzalez Æ Shuang Wang Æ Stephen S. Morse Published online: 28 May 2008 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008 Abstract Background To characterize knowledge and misconceptions regarding viral upper respiratory infections (URI) among urban Hispanics and identify correlates of greater knowledge. Methods In-home interviews conducted by trained research coordinators in 453 primarily Hispanic households (2,386 members) in northern Manhattan. Results The majority of respondents attributed URI to weather-related conditions. While most agreed that colds and flu were caused by viruses, 88.1% also agreed that they were caused by bacteria, and a small proportion reported that URI may be caused by evil eye (‘mal de ojo’, 7.1%) or sudden fright (‘susto’, 3.3%). Only 29.8% agreed that colds and flu would improve without medication; 89.9% stated that antibiotics are needed to treat viral throat infections. Most were well versed about influenza vaccination and reported that a recommendation from a healthcare provider would definitely influence them to get vaccinated. Dis- cussion Misconceptions about the role of antibiotics in the treatment of viral infections pose considerable risk in this population. Explicit, targeted recommendations from healthcare providers regarding vaccination and judicious antibiotic use as well as media campaigns targeted to Hispanics should be effective strategies for reducing mis- conceptions and improving health behaviors. Keywords Vaccination Á Influenza Á Upper respiratory infections Á Urban Á Hispanics Introduction Despite the generally benign nature of upper respiratory infections (URI), they have major economic and social costs associated with lost time at school and work, reduced productivity, and increased and/or inappropriate use of healthcare resources and antibiotics. The common cold is the most frequent and universal infection; most people have as many as 200 colds in a lifetime. Colds cause more illness in children than all other diseases combined and are responsible for up to 50% of school absenteeism. Colds, for example, account for approximately 25 million primary care visits, 1.6 million visits to the emergency department, and 42 million missed work or school days annually in the U.S. [1–3]. The economic burden of non-influenza URI alone is about $40 billion annually [4]. Upper respiratory infections are most likely to spread in conditions of crowding and among children who may practice inadequate general or respiratory hygiene such as not covering coughs and sneezes. Hence, URI are most readily spread in child care centers and other close living situations such as crowded households. Further, certain sub-populations such as non-English speaking recent immigrants may be at particular risk of transmission or inappropriate self-treatment; for example, inappropriate E. Larson (&) Á Y.-H. Ferng Á J. Wong Á M. Alvarez-Cid Á A. Barrett Á M. J. Gonzalez School of Nursing, Columbia University, 630 W. 168th St., New York, NY 10032, USA e-mail: ELL23@columbia.edu E. Larson Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA S. Wang Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA S. S. Morse Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA 123 J Immigrant Minority Health (2009) 11:71–82 DOI 10.1007/s10903-008-9154-2