Healthcare in the US is provided by separate agencies, thus creating a problem in terms of ready access to health and medical facilities. Furthermore, regardless of the existence of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Americans, particularly individuals from the minority groups, are still finding it challenging to access care. This led to the creation of the Promotora Model to promote health in the Hispanic community. The proceedings of this program are illustrated on several platforms. For instance, in Colorado Health (2016), the video shows how promotoras participate in various community outreach efforts to improve their lives and those of individuals in their community through gardening and healthy living. This brings to light the issue of poor nutrition within the Latino community. Nevertheless, the problem is evidenced to be addressed through gardening and healthy eating.
On the other hand, Kaiser Permanente (2010) illustrates how a nonprofit agency helps Latino families access health care and live a healthier lifestyle through the work of promotoras. Healthy living is mainly promoted via improving health literacy and engaging in physical activity. Hispanics representing the largest and second-fastest-growing minority group have a 66% probability of developing type 2 diabetes (Fortmann, Savin, Clark, Philis-Tsimikas, & Gallo, 2019; Kaiser Permanente, 2010). Therefore, through the community outreach programs, this population can be educated on proper health and nutrition strategies and physical activity (Zumba classes).
The Promotora Model is successful as it encompasses serving the Hispanic community that has been long underserved in the healthcare sector. Promotoras are particularly useful in this setting as they often share socioeconomic status, ethnicity, language, and life experiences with the communities that they serve. Therefore, they are conversant with the social networks and dynamics and the strengths, challenges, and needs specific to their communities (O’Brien et al., 2015). Furthermore, the door-to-door approach embraced connects residents to community health services, especially in cases where the population may feel isolated or distrustful of government programs for which they qualify. This is illustrated in Kaiser Permanente (2010), where the Zumba classes started with only five individuals that grew to over thirty people. Lastly, free accessible preventive services allow individuals belonging to the low socioeconomic status to engage in physical activities, thus reducing mortality.
The Promotora model was designed for community outreach and engagement efforts. The program aims to engage, capacitate, and empower the local health center’s patient population to become advocates for their health and the community’s. This model can be integrated to promote healthy living among individuals from other cultures and address some of the Healthy People 2030 leading health indicators (LHI). For example, it can be used to promote oral health among the Hispanic and African-American populations. Dental caries is regarded as one of the most prevalent chronic diseases among children aged 2-5 years in the US (Milling, Davila, Tomar & Dodd, 2019). Regardless of the efforts aiming to improve oral health for the whole population, the incidence of dental caries remains higher among children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. It is also higher among individuals belonging to Hispanic and African-American communities than Caucasians (Milling et al., 2019). This disparity is mainly attributed to barriers related to language, acculturation, income, and level of education. The model might function to improve oral health literacy on effective oral hygiene practices.
Another Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator is that the Promotora Model can be used for its reproductive and sexual health. According to Cheun and Loomis (2018), Hispanic females of low socioeconomic status are highly predisposed to developing cervical cancer. This relatively high probability is associated with lower screening rates. Therefore, the model can improve healthcare access by heightening the knowledge of cervical cancer screening. It can also increase the availability of community-based resources to improve their access to human papillomavirus vaccination and Pap testing.
In conclusion, the integration of the Promotora Model in healthcare greatly complements the ACA. It is often minority groups, such as Hispanics and African-Americans, who often suffer from the healthcare sector’s limitations. This is attributed to the low socioeconomic status, language barrier, and acculturation, among others. Therefore, promotoras, having a better understanding of their communities, are critical in promoting healthy living.
References
Cheun, A. S., & Loomis, J. (2018). A culturally sensitive approach to cervical cancer prevention in the Latina population using the Promotora Model. Nursing for Women’s Health, 22(4), 338–345.
Colorado Health (2016). RE: Vision – Promotoras [Video file]. Web.
Fortmann, A. L., Savin, K. L., Clark, L. T., Philis-Tsimikas, A., & Gallo, A. (2019). Innovative diabetes interventions in the U.S. Hispanic Population. Diabetes Spectrum, 2(4), 295–301.
Kaiser Permanente (2010). Las Promotoras: Kaiser Permanente helps Latino families access care [Video file]. Web.
Milling, E., Davila, M., Tomar, S., & Dodd, V. (2019). Impact of the Promotora Model on the improvement of oral health knowledge of caregivers. Revista Española de Salud Pública, 21(1), 64–69.
O’Brien, M. J., Perez, A., Alos, V. A., Whitaker, R. C., Ciolino, J. D., Mohr, D. C., & Ackermann, R. T. (2015). The feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a Promotora-Led Diabetes Prevention Program (PL-DPP) in Latinas: A pilot study. The Diabetes Educator, 41(4), 485–494.