Tailored interventions in public health - Where does tailoring fit in interventions to reduce health disparities?

The authors present a program of research that focuses on reducing health disparities among African American populations through innovative health communication and health promotion interventions. Research on tailored communications ranges from investigating efficacy, manipulating communication variables, and comparing tailored print versus other state-of-the-art intervention modalities to integrating tailored materials into public health interventions based on a socioecological model. Examples from other research, as well as advantages and disadvantages of these approaches, are discussed. The purpose of the overall research program is to develop effective and cost-effective health communications for promoting health behavior change that also are culturally relevant and potentially sustainable in communities.