Details:

Alternative Title:
Prev Chronic Dis
Personal Author:
Nichols, Donna C ; Berrios, Cecilia ; Samar, Haroon
Nichols, Donna C ; Berrios, Cecilia ; Samar, Haroon Less -
Description:
Background

Imagine yourself in Texas as a newly arrived immigrant who does not speak English. What would you do if your child became ill? How would you find a doctor? When you find one, will the doctor speak your native language or understand your culture? In a state of approximately 22 million people, many Texas residents, marginalized by poverty and cultural traditions, find themselves in this situation. To help them, some communities across Texas offer the services of promotors, or community health workers, who provide health education and assist with navigating the health care system.

Context

In 1999, Texas became the first state in the nation to recognize these workers and their contributions to keeping Texans healthy. This paper examines a state health promotion policy that culminated in a training and certification program for promotors and the impact of this program on the lay health education workforce in Texas.

Methods

In 1999, the Texas legislature established the 15-member Promotor(a) Program Development Committee to study issues involved in developing a statewide training and certification program. During its 2-year term, the committee met all six of its objectives toward establishing and maintaining a promotor(a) certification program.

Consequences

By the end of December 2005, it is estimated that there will be more than 700 certified promotors in Texas. State certification brings community health workers into the public health mainstream as never before.

Interpretation

Promotors, a community health safety net and a natural extension of the health and human services agencies, improve health at the neighborhood level. Certification brings renewed commitment to serving others and a distinction to those who have been the unsung heroes of public health for decades.


Subjects:
[+]
Community Health Services Community Health Workers Health Education Health Policy Health Promotion Humans
Source:
Prev Chronic Dis. 2005; 2(Spec No).
Document Type:
Journal Article
Place as Subject:
Texas
Location:
North America
Collection(s):
Preventing Chronic Disease
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:5aeca432c7d7ce67e33674fe22b1eac770441d48166973ad586964f710fe84e0
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/19983/cdc_19983_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	license.txt	txt
  	PCD2SIA13.nxml	txt

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