Microentrepreneurs in Public Health Promotion: Implementation of a Street Vendor–Led COVID-19 Recovery Initiative in Los Angeles, California

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated long-standing inequities, galvanizing new investments and community feedback to improve recovery programs. This implementation evaluation offers descriptive evidence of the feasibility of engaging street vendors to (1) facilitate linkage to services for undocumented Latinx communities, (2) strengthen health promotion by gathering community feedback, and (3) enhance economic opportunity by recognizing and addressing systemic challenges in which vendors operate. Future work should assess the effectiveness of mobilizing existing community messengers around entrenched social determinants of health. (Am J Public Health. 2024;114(S1):S78–S81. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307453 )