Expanding the Skills of Promotores and CHWs through a Policy Advocacy and Leadership Curriculum

In 2007 and again in 2009 Kaiser Permanente supported Visión y Compromiso (VyC) to develop the Policy Advocacy Leadership Program, a Promotora-centered policy and advocacy training program intended to provide Promotoras with the skills they need to participate in local advocacy efforts. Using the Policy Advocacy and Leadership Curriculum, VyC trained a cohort of Promotoras from Southern California (San Bernardino County, Orange County and different areas of Los Angeles County) in 2007. The curriculum is currently being implemented in San Diego, the Inland Empire and in the bay area, all in the state of California. The presentation will include a full description of the development of this curriculum which includes the integration of an advisory group of Promotores, Community Health Workers and program directors, a description of each of the six training sessions which cover a variety of topics related to leadership, policy advocacy, community mobilization, nutrition, physical activity and chronic disease including: obesity, relationship of nutrition to chronic disease, role of the Promotora in the well-being of the community, understanding the public health and school systems, relationship between parks and health, stores and farmers markets, coalitions and conflict resolution, and community action and the legislative process. And finally, we will share a report of the impact this capacity building resource is having on the Promotores personally as well as professionally by adopting a new role in the area of policy advocacy.