Abstract: "Barefoot Doctors" and health promoters are been common features on the health landscape of developing countries for more than thirty years. With the widening gap between health services and "hard to reach populations" in the United States, the role of health promoter is being rediscovered and incorporated into prevention programs among populations at risk. The authors of this paper report on one such effort in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas on the Texas-Mexico border. Some thirty madrinas (godmothers) were trained to mentor teen-age parents, facilitating their access to needed services for themselves and their children. Results of the program to date come from interviews of madrinas, and an analysis of the needs and services provided to the adolescent parents and their children. Baseline data have been collected from 160 teenage parents relating to services available to and utilized by the teen parents.
Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives: At the end of this session, participants should be able to: 1) gain an understanding of this unique population of parenting adolescents and their ATOD use; 2) understand the special problems related to access to services presented by this population; and 3) gain knowledge of how madrinas affect services provision for this population
Keywords: Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Service Delivery
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.