La Familia Sana Promotora Program, an in-depth examination of factors affecting Promotoras' self-perceived effectiveness and personal development

Introduction: Promotoras can play an integral role in providing information about occupational health to members of their communities. Pesticide exposure through occupational and residential pathways causes short and long-term health problems to farmworkers and their families. The North Carolina Farmworkers Project and Wake Forest University School of Medicine collaborated on a project that uses promotoras to teach farmworker families about agricultural and residential pesticide safety. Methods: Seventeen promotoras in six eastern North Carolina counties were trained to provide pesticide safety training to 661 Latino families. Promotoras recruited families and taught them using a six-lesson curriculum of culturally appropriate material designed for low-literacy, Spanish-speaking adults. The curriculum had previously been shown efficacious in a randomized trial. The promotoras were women from their community who varied in their prior experiences working in the community. At the end of the project, an in-depth interview was administered to each Promotora to evaluate personal development and changes in self-perception. Results: The in-depth interviews revealed a range of personal development and self-perception changes. Greater perceived personal development and success in teaching were associated with length of time as a Promotora in the program and prior experience as a promotora or outreach worker. Large social networks and support from family were also associated with greater satisfaction and perceived effectiveness as a promotora. Conclusion: Better understanding of promotora characteristics and diversity may help the public health community understand and shape the outcomes and dissemination of future Promotora programs used to promote occupational safety and health.