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Abstract #156250

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E. Lee Rosenthal, MPH, PhD¹, Esperanza Vasquez, CCHW², Hector Balcazar, MS, PhD³, Leslie Schulz, PhD⁴, Vicente Martinez, Leticia Flores, MPH⁶, and Grizelda Martinez⁷. (1) Department of Health Promotion-College of Health Science, University of Texas at El Paso, 1101 N. Campbell Street, El Paso, TX 79902, (915) 747-8233, elrosenthal@utep.edu, (2) Health Promotion Department, Centro San Vicente, 8061 Alameda Avenue, El Paso, TX 79915, (3) El Paso, Regional Campus, UT Health Science Center-School of Public Health, 1100 N. Stanton, EL Paso, TX 79902, (4) College of Health and Human Services, Executive Dean, South San Francisco Street, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, (5) Community Health Worker Program, El Paso Community College, 200 W. Rio Grande, El Paso, TX 79902, (6) Institute for Policy and Economic Development, University of Texas at El Paso, Kelly Hall, 410, El Paso, TX 79968

The Health Education Awareness and Research Team (HEART) is a university and community-based partnership funded by the National Institutes of Health National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. The HEART research pilot assessed the outcomes of a family-centered Community Health Worker/Promotor (CHW/P) intervention based on the Salud Para Su Corazon curriculum. In refining HEART's approach to the randomized clinical trial (RCT), research partners, including CHW/Ps, worked together to identify methods to integrate CHWs/Ps' expertise in their own practice to enhance both the proposed intervention and research design. Several methods were undertaken to engage CHW/Ps in the process. A key approach was a HEART-sponsored Promotor Forum held in Spanish where El Paso area CHW/Ps were invited to present to research partners on their most favored approaches to their work. They were also asked to give feedback on the proposed RCT design itself after active teaching on RCT methods. Another approach undertaken by HEART to integrate CHW/P guidance was to identify area CHW/Ps as consultants who then assisted in the refinement of a cost-benefit analysis plan in order to assure that CHW/P program costs/inputs and benefits/outputs would be fully captured in the analysis. CHW/Ps leading the pilot intervention were also asked to assess the appropriateness of curriculum adaptations undertaken by HEART to increase family involvement such as Photovoice method. The HEART pilot has provided an opportunity to learn about integrating CHW/P guidance and motivations in community-based research and it has illuminated challenges to full integration; this paper will highlight those learnings.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn how CHWs informed a research program to ensure the optimal prevtion approaches to the community were undertaken

Keywords: Community Health Promoters, Community-Based Public Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout