Using the promotora model to increase community emergency preparedness

This purpose of this presentation is to share best practices and new lessons learned in working with and implementing a promotora-based project to increase community emergency preparedness planning.

Since 2010, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department has worked with two community agencies that work with promotoras to implement grassroots community outreach projects in mono-lingual Spanish speaking communities. The campaign originally began as part of the CDC Take the Lead Campaign to increase H1N1 education, information and encourage vaccination among Latinos. Promotora received training from public health staff as well as additional training from their agencies. The outreach campaign included small group presentations in private homes, churches, community centers and well as outreach at local supermarkets and small businesses in targeted neighborhoods. The outcomes of first campaign resulted in reaching 13,800 individuals in over in 300 community venues such as health fairs, churches, apartment complexes, migrant camps and more. The program has been expanded to include outreach work around public health emergency preparedness planning using an adapted promotora training curriculum originally developed by Montgomery County, Maryland APC.

Learning objectives include discussing the promotora model to increase family and community preparedness planning, defining different roles of promotoras before and during a public health emergency event, and formulating a promotora training program on public health emergency preparedness.