Training community health workers to promote preparedness and disaster resilience

Community health workers (CHWs) play an important role in connecting culturally, linguistically, and geographically isolated communities to essential services in Southern California. They have expanded their role to promote environmental health awareness and justice through organizations like the Community Center for Action and Environmental Justice (CCAEJ) and Poder Popular of the Coachella Valley. In partnership with these agencies, the UCLA Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC) at Loma Linda University is investigating the effectiveness of training CHWs to promote the long-term health of communities through increased disaster resilience. This project uses a quasi-experimental mixed-methods community-based participatory research (CBPR) design to create a disaster preparedness capacity building program in two Latino communities (one urban and one rural). After receiving CBPR and Institutional Review Board (IRB) training, CHWs conducted 446 household surveys, which measured disaster resilience through indicators of social, economic, and ecologic capital and emergency preparedness beliefs, attitudes, and practices. Data was also collected through 25 key informant interviews, 5 focus groups, and 2 windshield surveys. The findings led to the development of a 9-hour, Spanish/English, awareness-level, train-the-trainer curriculum that teaches emergency preparedness and response, with emphasis on community planning and integration with the local resources. CHWs also increased linkages with the community and public health workforce at health fairs and table-top exercises. The session will discuss the process and impact evaluations, which present the approaches used in partnering with CHWs in this PERRC project as a new potential best practice for increasing disaster resilience among isolated communities.