Lay Health Providers and HIV Prevention in a Latino
Community
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/451158_10
Monthly Summaries of Nursing Research
McQuiston C, Flaskerud JH. "If they don't ask about
condoms, I just tell them": a descriptive case study of
Latino lay health advisers' helping activities. Health
Education & Behavior. 2003;30:79-96.
For minority populations, lay health advisers (LHAs) often
supplement traditional health services by providing
information on health promotion and disease prevention in
their communities. Nurse researchers in North Carolina
developed the Protegiendo Nuestra Comunidad (Protecting our
Community) program for a growing neighborhood of recent
Mexican immigrants. With the help of community leaders, they
identified 18 individuals, 15 women and 3 men, for training as
LHAs to promote sexual health and decrease risk of HIV
exposure. The LHAs ranged in age from 19 years to 39 years,
were Spanish-speaking, and had an average of 8 years of
education. Training consisted of 21 hours of instruction in
safe sex practices and prevention of HIV and other sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs). The LHAs were then to return to
their community to help spread this knowledge. Follow-up
interviews with the LHAs showed that many had talked about HIV
with their family and friends. The LHAs found they could clear
up common misconceptions among those in their community,
including the fear of getting HIV from a public bathroom, or
through kissing or contact with linens or clothes, and the
belief that persons with HIV/AIDS were easy to identify. They
also encouraged the use of condoms, and urged testing for
those with concerns about exposure to STDs. The LHAs often
helped community members make clinic appoints and negotiate
the public healthcare system. By providing information and
guidance, and answering questions, the LHAs gained the trust
of members of their community, helping to spread their
message. However, more study is needed to determine community
outcomes of this intervention.
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