The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #72928

Noemi Cruz, RD, CDE¹, Edna L Bush, RN, CCM², Kenneth S Babamoto, PharmD, MPH³, Angela J Camilleri, MPH, MA³, Scott Wolf, DO, MPH⁴, Julia D Portale, MPH, MBA³, Vicki J Karlan, MPH⁵, and Carmen Aponte¹. (1) Program Coordinator, Hartford Hospital, 79 Retreat Avenue, Brownstone Bldg. 110, Hartford, CT 06102, 860-545-4195, ncruz@harthosp.org, (2) QueensCare Family Clinics, 1300 North Vermont Avenue,Suite 1002, Los Angeles, CA 90027-0005, (3) Community Health, Pfizer Health Solutions, 2400 Broadway, Suite 500, Santa Monica, CA 90404, (4) Department of Medicine, Hartford Hospital, 80 Seymour Street, P.O. Box 5037, Hartford, CT 06102, (5) Outcomes and Analytics, Pfizer Health Solutions, 2400 Broadway, Suite 500, Santa Monica, CA 90404

The scientific literature, anecdotal reports and professional organizations support the use of trained community health workers (CHWs) to improve health care delivery, especially within the Hispanic community. CHWs have a diverse background, work in different settings, and perform a range of services to benefit community residents. These services may include community advocacy, outreach, health promotion, and support for health care professionals in providing patient and family education and monitoring services. The CHWs’ understanding of the unique community needs, language and cultural proficiency allows these individuals to be drawn upon as local resources to effectively close sociocultural barriers and health disparities between patients and the health care system. Pfizer Health Solutions has developed a program called Amigos En Salud, designed as a partnership between diagnosed Hispanic diabetes patients, community health workers, and medical providers. The program, being implemented in Los Angeles, Hartford, and Jersey City, is designed to help patients and family members - even at very low literacy levels - understand the disease, learn how to manage key stages of behavior change, and take charge of their own health, through working with a supportive CHW, who integrates cultural beliefs into daily self-management practice through a low-literacy, bilingual teaching curriculum. Case studies and teaching methods will be presented by the CHW, describing the CHW’s role in supporting patients and health care providers to improve diabetes care for Hispanic community residents through adoption of self-management skills. To date, clinically significant improvement has been reported in patients working with CHWs.

Learning Objectives:

• List three CHW strategies to support health care providers in the management of diabetes
• Describe three successful CHW interventions to encourage patient adoption of diabetes self-management skills
• Provide three examples of how CHWs can effectively integrate cultural beliefs into a health education curriculum

Keywords: Diabetes, Hispanic

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Study Coordinator/PI