Preparing for the unexpected, a California promotores public health emergency trainning

Migrant agricultural populations in California are uniquely vulnerable to public health emergencies such as infectious disease outbreaks and natural disasters. Migrant farmworkers and their family members face several barriers to emergency preparedness and response. However, many of these barriers may be addressed through promotores that have proven to effectively reach migrant and other Hispanic communities. The goal of this project was to provide public health emergency response trainings to promotores throughout California that work with migrant agricultural populations. This goal was to be completed by: 1) Adapting existing curricula on emergency response and public health incidences and outbreaks; and 2) Coordinating with promotores networks and community health clinics to provide trainings throughout the state of California. Ten workshops were scheduled and arranged with local contacts throughout California. Workshops were focused in geographic areas with large migrant populations. Participants were typically provided five hours of instruction / group activity time, per workshop. In total, nine workshops were conducted. A total of 191 individuals attended, representing 51 government, healthcare, and community organizations. Workshop attendance ranged from 4-41 participants, with an average of 21 participants per workshop. The large majority of participants (80%) were born outside of the United States, and 90% of participants were female. Participants ranged from 18 to more than 60 years of age, and had a range of educational attainment from pre-elementary to post-graduate school. Pre- and post-testing revealed knowledge acquisition among all workshops, with an average pre-test score of 61% and an average post-test score of 96%.