Latino Community Health Workers: Linking Latino children to health services

Objective. The Children's Health Initiative in King County uses culturally-tailored community-based outreach approaches to demonstrate effectiveness in enrolling uninsured Latino children into public health coverage and assure that they receive medical and dental care. Spanish speaking community health workers, Promotores de Salud, were trained as health navigators to work within their own Latino communities to support families in understanding the need for preventive health services and health insurance, to access publicly funded coverage and to establish a medical and dental home.

Methods. We tracked the number of newly enrolled children in Medicaid and SCHIP in 2008 by Promotores and those connected to a doctor or dentist. Additionally, focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were conducted with Promotores to ascertain the intangible benefits that program participation offers to them.

Results. In a one year period, over 200 children, who are often at the margins of traditional outreach efforts, were assisted in applications to Medicaid or SCHIP programs and were connected to a doctor and dentist for important preventive services. The Promotores, the majority of whom are low-income women with little previous professional work experience, report a new sense of pride and accomplishment and increased self esteem as a result of their participation in the Promotores program.

Conclusions. In addition to the tangible benefits of increasing access to important health services for isolated and vulnerable populations of children, participation in the Promotores program also provides the mostly female Promotores a strong sense of pride and accomplishment in serving their own communities.