178911 Promotoras' Role in Improving the Built Environment: Implications of an Environmental Health/Home safety Intervention on the New Mexico-Mexico Border

Monday, October 27, 2008: 5:15 PM

Thenral D. Mangadu, MD, MPH , Southern Area Health Education Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Benjamin Jacquez, MS , Southern Area Health Education Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Susan C. Forster-Cox, PhD, MPH, CHES , Dept. of Health Science, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Claudia Leyva , Southern Area Health Education Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
Luz Palomino, APH , Gadsden Independent School District, Chaparral High School, Chaparral, NM
Jagan Butler, MBA , Southern Area Health Education Center, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
The New Mexico-Mexico border includes 140 colonias in which more than 40,000 individuals reside. Colonias are unincorporated rural communities characterized by lack of basic necessities such as potable water, sewer and drainage systems, and sanitary housing. Consequently, border communities experience an increased incidence of food and water borne illnesses, pesticide toxicity, asthma, and zoonotic diseases. The Environmental Health/Home Safety Education Project (Proyecto de Salud Ambiental y Seguridad en el Hogar) was developed in response to the need for a culturally appropriate intervention to tackle environmental health issues in homes on the New Mexico-Mexico border. This project utilized promotoras/community health workers who are trained to provide education on various environmental health topics. Evaluation data from 367 of the clients targeted over 3 years of this project showed statistically significant increases in knowledge and behavior change regarding pesticide safety (p<0.001), storage of hazardous materials (p=0.002), and food safety (p<0.001) as a result of this intervention. The Healthy Homes intervention, a modification of the Environmental Health/Home Safety Education Project also utilizes promotoras to specifically address pesticide safety in homes along the New Mexico-Mexico border. Evaluation data from program participants (n=20) collected 6 months after the intervention show retention of knowledge and behavior change regarding pesticide safety and, positive feedback towards the intervention methodology. This presentation will discuss the participant recruitment and retention strategies, and culturally appropriate modes of intervention delivery utilized by the promotoras. Challenges faced by community health workers in providing environmental health interventions along the US-Mexico border will also be addressed.

Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, the participants will be able to: 1.Identify at least five environmental health and home safety issues along the New Mexico –Mexico border. 2.Discuss the cultural and regional appropriateness of utilizing promotoras/community health workers to improve the built environment. 3.Recognize the potential challenges faced by promotoras/community health workers in participant recruitment and retention for environmental health interventions in border communities.

Keywords: Environmental Health Hazards, Community Health Promoters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I collected data from the specified projects
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: Environmental Health Concerns in Border Communities
See more of: Environment