In the Texas Rio Grande Valley, the mortality rate for diabetes is nearly twice the state rate, and residents experience high rates of poverty, unemployment, lack transportation, and live in colonias (poor, rural and unregulated residential areas established outside municipal boundaries). In response, the REACH Promotora Community Coalition initiated a one-year planning process during which the members prioritized health problems, developed community-based intervention strategies, and planned for the evaluation of health outcomes. At over forty community workgroups with more than 600 residents and service providers, the community selected diabetes as the most pressing health problem and offered recommendations to address this health issue. Based on the community workgroups, the Coalition developed and is now implementing and evaluating a Community Action Plan in the schools, clinics, and colonias. Promotoras are central to all components of the Community Action Plan including community organizing, program planning, health education, and evaluation. In collaboration with Migrant and Community Health Centers, trained Promotoras offer in-home support to diabetics and their families, while the health centers take steps to monitor and improve the quality of care they provide to diabetics. In three school districts, School Health Teams are conducting a self-assessment of their current health education, nutrition, and physical education programs. In the colonias, Promotoras lead walking groups and cooking classes with colonia residents. The REACH Promotora Community Coalition is one of twenty-six Coalitions nationwide to participate in Phase II of the CDC REACH 2010 Initiative.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to: 1. Plan and facilitate participatory workgroups to set local health priorities. 2. Identify ways in which Promotoras and other community members can participate in program planning, implementation, and evaluation. 3. Develop a local plan to reduce health inequalities that responds to the needs of the community.
Keywords: Community Health Promoters, Diabetes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.