196862 A Promotora and Community Approach to Promoting Health, Well-being and Awareness of Disabilities

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Melinda Cordero , Vision y Compromiso, South Pasadena, CA
Lisa Kodmur , LA Care Health Plan, Los Angeles, CA
Joan Branin , Center for Health & Aging, Unversity of La Verne, La Verne, CA
Elsa Quezada , Central Coast Center for Independent Living, Salinas, CA
The Health, Well-being and Awareness Disability Pilot Project consisted of a training phase, an implementation phase, and an evaluation phase.

The training phase involved the selection and training of Promotoras to receive specialized disability awareness training which was conducted by the Central Coast Center for Independent Living (CCCIL). These Promotores were recruited to participate in the training by Vision y Compromiso. The disability awareness training materials were developed by the Center for Disability Issues and Health Professions, Western University of Health Sciences. The implementation phase involved the deployment of trained Promotores to their respective communities throughout Los Angeles County to implement the disability curriculum by fostering community participation and advocacy through community meetings/forums and by disseminating information about disability and community resources to Spanish speaking individuals in their respective communities through home visits.

The evaluation phase was ongoing and integrated into the delivery of the Pilot Program. The evaluation consisted of both an outcomes and process evaluation. Outcomes included the measurement of the number of clients served, disabilities identified, community resources needed but not available, and referrals made to individuals and organizations in the community. Processes evaluated included changes in the Promotores' disability knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and beliefs; the clients' satisfaction with the Community Forums; the Promotoras' satisfaction with the training and assessment with their self-growth; and an overall evaluation of the training and training materials. The evaluation was conducted by the Center for Health & Aging at the University of La Verne. Results of this evaluation will be shared.

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the collaborative efforts between 2 universities, an independent living center, a health plan and a statewide organization to promote health, well-being and awareness through Promotoras in Los Angeles County. 2. Demonstrate the effectiveness of the Promotores model to raise awareness about disability in general.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have 18 years of experience working with the Promotores model and understand its implementation in ordero to promote health and reduce health disparities. I was also actively involved in the implementation of the disability project being proposed for presentation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

See more of: Promoting the Health of People with Disabilities I
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