Mobile Technology use by Promotoras: A small qualitative study in California

The purpose of this qualitative research was to understand the extent to which promotoras and community health workers (CHWs) engaged in outreach to low-income Hispanics use mobile devices in their work and determine if mobile devices have a role as teaching tools. Four focus groups (two of promotoras serving urban populations, two serving rural) with a total of 26 respondents (24 women, two men) were conducted in English and Spanish in the two largest Hispanic areas of California. Every promotora had a mobile phone. The majority had web-enabled phones and made extensive use of personal cell phones in outreach work. Promotoras accessed websites for clients, took pictures during home visits, texted information and showed photos and videos to teach. Although only three had used a tablet computer, all expressed excitement about tablets and educational applications, particularly games and interactive experiences. Promotoras stated that digital content accessible on mobile devices is now essential, a better fit for their teaching style and takes advantage of their Hispanic clients' communications preferences. Games with low or no text were most desirable. Many felt poorly served by and expressed frustration with the limited impact of print materials. In the words of two respondents, using mobile devices “reduces the amount of tools that we have to carry” and “makes it less boring” . Promotoras look for tools that are fast, simple and concise and feel mobile devices fit these criteria. This has important implications for the development of education materials.