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Evaluating Colonias and the Use of Promatoras on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Several hundred thousand persons live in unincorporated areas known as Colonias along the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Often these areas do not have adequate sanitation, including clean water supplies. The people living there typically have inadequate insurance coverage (public or private) and poor access to a regular source of health care and essential preventive health services. During the last decade, the Texas A&M Colonias project has established 12 Community Resource Centers (CRCs) in three regions along the Texas-Mexico border with the goal of strengthening the communities by activitating and integrating community residents and organizations into the planning and execution of community development programs.
In 1997, the Texas A&M Colonias project adopted a program of health promotion using promatoras ---paraprofessional outreach workers--- in the Colonias. Other states, including New Mexico and Arizona, also have experience using promatoras to reach out to community residents and involve them in health promotion and the development of healthy communities. The project has three specific objectives:
- To describe the creation and development of the CRCs as a form of community social infrastructure;
- To examine the ways in which CRCs and promatoras function, such as socializing Colonias residents concerning health-related issues and facilitating healthy communities (e.g., health fairs, environmental clean-ups); and
- To compare the structure and performance of promatoras in different settings in Texas and New Mexico, focusing on their effectiveness in promoting health and involving community residents in the developing and maintaining healthy communities.
Publications
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Mujer y Corazon: Community Health Workers and their Organizations in Colonias on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Author(s): Marlynn L. May, Ricardo B. Contreras, Linda Callejas, Elvia Ladezma
Report Number: Policy Brief
Date: 10 / 2004
Reports the results of a study that analyzed the Community Health Worker (CHW) organizations and practices to learn how they work and why they are key resources in colonias for improving the health of the communities. The study also examined the relationships of the CHW with and their impact on the communities they serve, finding variation programmatically, structurally, and geographically. A full report is also available.
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Mujer Y Corazon: Community Health Workers and Their Organizations in Colonias on the US-Mexico Border: An Exploratory Study
Author(s): Marlynn L. May, Ricardo B. Contreras, Linda Callejas, Elvia Ledezma
Date: 08 / 2004
Reports the results of a study that analyzed the Community Health Worker (CHW) organizations and practices to learn how they work and why they are key resources in colonias for improving the health of the communities. The study also examined the relationships of the CHW with and their impact on the communities they serve, finding variation programmatically, structurally, and geographically. A policy brief is also available.
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