Sustainability and Evaluation of the Grassroots Promotora Program in Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, Inc; 14 years of Data, What Matters?

To address emerging threats in the public health system of local communities new forms of actions are needed in USA. Improving the capacity of communities for health promotion requires practical planning, leadership training and access to resources. The aims of the presentation are 1) to present the evolution of the TVHC Promotoras program as a model for sustainability, 2) share structure, process and outcomes measures and 3) review evaluation results. The methodology consist in a descriptive study of data collected during the last 14 years, including curriculums, staffing patterns, budgets, summary plans, outreach activities and surveys applied to a sample of 20% of total promotoras trained since 2000 with discussion of qualitative measures from the Management and Promotoras Perspective (Promotoras Steering Committe). Results: TVHC Community Health Education dept has trained a total of 350 promotoras during the last 14 years (average of 25 promotoras per year) begining with a leadership development curriculum. The program is based in a 1-year promotoras coaching and role modeling while conducting volunteer outreach activities. Qualitative and quantitative measures will be presented from database and surveys.  Our Promotoras de Salud program is a "blending" of Freire’s empowerment concepts, Non-Formal education  people actively participating and taking responsibility for their own education while promoting the idea that the community is capable of taking control of its health and Principles for Health Promotion based on the belief that “Health is a basic human right, essential for social and economic development and is a valuable investment”. Increasingly, health promotion is being recognized as an essential element of health development.