Preparing Promotoras to Deliver Health Programs for Hispanic Communities (original) (raw)
Related papers
Preparing Promotoras to Deliver Health Programs for Hispanic Communities
Health Promotion Practice, 2012
Training is an essential component of health programs that incorporate promotoras de salud (the Spanish term for community health workers) in the delivery of health education and behavioral interventions to Hispanics. During training sessions, promotoras are exposed to information and skill-building activities they need to implement the health programs. This analysis was one component of a broader study which explored program planners' approaches to recruiting and training promotoras to deliver and sustain health promotion programs for Hispanic women. The purpose of this study was to examine promotora-curriculum and training processes used to prepare promotoras to deliver health programs. The authors examined transcripts of 12 in-depth interviews with program planners and conducted a content analysis of seven different training materials used in their respective promotora programs. Interview themes and narratives included program planners' varying conceptualizations of promotora-training, including their personal definitions of "training the trainer," the practice of training a cadre of promotoras before selecting those best fit for the program, and the importance of providing goal-directed, in-depth training and supervision for promotoras. The content analysis revealed a variety of strategies used to make the training materials interactive and culturally competent. Study implications describe the importance of planners' provision of ongoing, goal-directed, and supervised training using both appropriate language and interactive methods to engage and teach promotoras.
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 2011
Promotores have unique access to underserved and hard-to-reach Latino communities facing health disparities. Although promotores are involved in community change, they rarely receive training that gives them the skills to be partners in research. We present a case study of promotoras who participated in a research capacity building course focused on assessing community health needs. Data comes from course application surveys, follow-up notes, and narratives from qualitative phone interviews of eight promotoras. Content analysis drawing from grounded theory was conducted to identify and describe emerging themes. Four themes emerged as promotoras discussed their experience learning basic research skills and teaching others: (1) challenges, (2) support, (3) building capacity, and (4) using research. Promotores play an important role in the health of Latino communities and are increasingly asked to participate in research processes; however they have few opportunities for training and professional development in this area. Capacity building opportunities for promotores need to be tailored to their needs and provide them with support. Fostering collaboration between promotores and partnering with local community-based organizations can help facilitate needed research skillbuilding among promotores.
Health Promotion Practice, 2006
National Council of la Raza (NCLR) promotora (lay health worker) program for promoting heart-healthy behaviors among Latinos. Findings of this community outreach initiative include data from promotora pledges and self-skill behaviors, cardiovascular disease risk factors of Latino families, family heart-health education delivery, and program costs associated with promotora time. Participation included 29 trained promotoras serving 188 families from three NCLR affiliates in Escondido, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. Using several evaluation tools, the results showed that the promotora approach worked based on evidence obtained from the following indicators: changes in promotora's pre-post knowledge and performance skills, progress toward their pledge goals following training, recruiting and teaching families, providing follow-up, and organizing or participating in community events. Strengths and limitations of the promotora model approach are also discussed.
There is widespread recognition of the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of promotoras de salud (a Spanish term for community health workers [CHW]) in health education and outreach among Hispanic communities. Yet, there are significant gaps in the literature regarding the preparation, implementation, and evaluation of promotoras' engagement in research. To address this gap, we examine promotoras' research-related training, roles, responsibilities, and contributions in a community-based participatory research project involving a multisite randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a physical activity intervention for Mexican-origin women in Texas and South Carolina. We identify both benefits and challenges associated with promotoras' engagement as community researchers; examine variations and differences in promotora roles and responsibilities related to the research contexts, sites, settings, and individual characteristics; and discuss implications for research and practice.
Global Journal of Health Education and Promotion, 2016
Thousands of studies have documented the history and effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) and their evolving role in population health over the last several decades. However, few published literature reviews have focused on the contributions of Latina/o CHWs (e.g., promotores) in developing countries and in underresourced communities within the United States. This article presents a review of the scholarly literature published in the last decade (2005-2015) and provides a snapshot of characteristics and factors that affect the important role of promotores as trusted liaisons and contributors to prevention and primary care. After filtering articles by inclusion criteria, we reviewed the final sample of 63 articles. Eight categories emerged from the literature: (1) factors that motivate individuals to become promotora/es, (2) descriptive characteristics of promotores and their settings for practice, (3) health issues most commonly addressed by promotores, (4) the effectiveness of programs involving promotores and lay health models, (5) the effect of lay health work on self-efficacy, (6) the role of promotores in community health advocacy, (7) occupational challenges and potential barriers to practice, and (8) best practices for training and supporting promotores as contributors to community health and health care systems. This review presents evidence that promotores, in their varied responsibilities and settings, are essential partners to improving health outcomes for Latina women, their families, and communities.
Journal of Social Service Research, 2012
Latinos in the United States face numerous barriers to accessing health care and suffer from relatively low health outcomes. To address these barriers and improve Latinos' health, community-based nonprofits attempt to use innovative and creative health care delivery methods, including promotores programs. Promotores are community lay health workers, often working through nonprofit organizations, who provide outreach and services to Latinos. Using primary data from a sample of national experts, this paper explores the challenges faced by nonprofits in the implementation of promotores programs. The findings suggest three key implementation problems: the lack of standardized information on promotores programs, labor issues, and organizational costs. The paper concludes with several strategies to addresses these problems.