Salud Para Su Corazón-NCLR: A Comprehensive Promotora Outreach Program to Promote Heart-Healthy Behaviors Among Hispanics

Abstract

This article describes results of year-1 implementation of the Salud Para Su Corazón (Health For Your Heart)-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.

Reducing Farmworker Residential Pesticide Exposure: Evaluation of a Lay Health Advisor Intervention

“…The partners in this collaboration included the North Carolina Farmworkers Project, a non-profit farmworker and service advocacy organization, and Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Lay health advisors can include individuals who vary in activities and training, but generally are members of a community and serve a natural helping role in that community (Eng et al, 1997;Kegler et al, 2003;Balcázar et al, 2006). The goal of this analysis is to evaluate the effectiveness of the La Familia promotora program in teaching women in farmworker families about pesticide safety and increasing residential pesticide safety behaviors.…”

The Role of Lay Health Advisors in Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Review

“…These authors determined that the intervention participants were more likely to progress through stages of change than their control counterparts. Balcazar et al (2006) found that funding limited the ability to evaluate the extent to which project activities associated with follow-up, referrals, and community events to promote heart health resulted in improvements in the number of new patients screened and changes in lifestyle behaviors among participants. The 1 year time constraint in this study resulted in process inconsistency and lack of complete and clear data collection.…”

“…Kim et al (2005) provide a relevant description of LHA recruitment and training, addressing system strengths and challenges in implementing a collaborative outreach program designed to address health disparities in a poor Latino community in Los Angeles. Balcazar et al (2006) provide such an example in their implementation of the Salud Para Su Corazon program for promoting heart-healthy behaviors among Latinos. The authors provide detail on program structure and conceptual framework, the promotora training, the program curriculum as a culturally appropriate health education tool, and the application of the promotora model to the delivery of the curriculum in Latino communities.…”

Listening to Immigrant Latino Men in Rural Oregon

“…Although Latino peer education has been notably successful in tackling issues on chronic disease and general health and lifestyle (e.g., Balcazar et al, 2006;Elder et al, 2006;Garvin, Cheadle, Chrisman, Chen, & Brunson, 2004;Townsend, Johns, Shilts, & Farfan-Ramirez, 2006), there is some evidence in the literature to suggest that expert interventionists or nonpeer deliverers (e.g., health care providers, counselors) may be more effective in promoting protective sexual behaviors than trained lay community members (Durantini, Albarracin, Mitchell, Earl, & Gillette, 2006;Herbst et al, 2007). More research is needed, however, to better understand effective delivery methods of sensitive sexual and reproductive health messages to immigrant Latino male populations.…”