Promotora Adela Barajas and Physician-Assistant Student role play sick-baby visit .
Promotora Adela Barajas and Physician-Assistant Student role play sick-baby visit .
INTRODUCTION
Nuestra Comunidad Sana utilizes Mexican-American Community Health Promoters recruited from the local farm worker community and intensively trained to provide mental and physical health education and promotion in Hispanic communities of the Mid-Columbia region of Oregon and Washington. The Community Health Promoters utilize an interactive methodology called "Popular Education" to communicate health information. Their messages are developed through the integration of current medical practices with Mexican-American cultural values and specific health beliefs. Nuestra Comunidad Sana has been operating as a health promoter program for since 1988.
WORKSHOPS
Nuestra Comunidad Sana offers cultural competency workshops on health related beliefs of Mexican-Americans in Oregon and Washington. These workshops are given to medical, nursing, and pharmacy professionals and students and to many agencies and community groups desiring to serve the Hispanic community better.
Mexican-Americans, like all people, have expectations and assumptions that influence their relationship with, and understanding of, the health care community and it's services. How the health care worker addresses these expectations and assumptions can have a dramatic effect on a patient's compliance with the recommended plan of care. Understanding the cultural values and health beliefs of Mexican- American clients/patients can increase bilateral understanding and provide more effective care, health education and counsel. It can also have a positive effect on bottom line costs.
Nuestra Comunidad Sana offers classes year-round. Workshops can be tailored to your organization's particular needs and can be conducted at your site. The following health related themes are suggested. Others could be developed.
CONSULTING
Professional Hispanic cultural consulting is available for problematic health related issues that affect agencies and their Hispanic clients. Examples would include client/patient conflicts with staff or agency, development of educational programs or materials, bill collection, project development, and collection of data through individual or focus group interviews.
EXPERIENCE
Nuestra Comunidad Sana has been providing cultural competency consulting and workshops on these and other topics at Oregon Health Sciences University and other schools and for practicing health professionals for over ten years. NCS has also presented cultural competency workshops at numerous regional and national conferences, including the National Migrant Health Conference in May, 2000. References are available.
COSTS
Nuestra Comunidad Sana charges $400 to $650 per workshop depending on the length of the workshop, the amount of preparation required, and travel time. Typically, workshops last from 2 to 4 hours, with two of our staff facilitating. Please contact us if you have questions about the workshops.