185949 Community health workers/Promotores working at the intersection of culture, language, community and health care systems

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 4:45 PM

Romelia Rodriguez, CHW , Asthma Program, Woodhull Hospital and Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Sergio Matos, BS, CHW , Center for Population and Family Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York City, NY
A Community Health Worker/Promotor (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the CHW to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services, academia, business and the community to facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery. A CHW also builds individual and community capacity by increasing knowledge, education and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as outreach, community education, informal counseling, social support, community organizing and advocacy.

In this session, CHWs will tell their stories of the challenges they face in their work with immigrant and other underprivileged communities. CHWs will also share their strategies for overcoming these barriers and helping the health care system become more accessible and appropriate to the communities they serve.

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the work of community health workers as organizers and advocates for the health care rights of immigrants and their access to health care. Identify the unique role community health workers/promotores play in facilitating understanding of the western medical system and in helping people navigate its complexity. Describe unique challenges community health workers/promotores face in their daily activities and the strategies they apply to overcome these challenges.

Keywords: Access Immigration, Community Health Promoters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have presented my work at APHA for the past several years. I am a community health worker with years of experience working in newly immigrant and underprivileged communities.
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.