title: The Latino Health Advocacy Program: a collaborative lay health advisor approach.
abstract: There have been numerous calls in the literature for health educators to develop programs to improve access to and utilization of health and human services by traditionally underserved communities, including Latinos. While the literature suggests several principles that can guide the development of these programs, it is important to address the needs, and build on the strengths, of the specific community of interest. It is, therefore, important to use collaborative approaches in which community members take an active role in the initiation, design, implementation, and evaluation of program activities. Lay health advisor programs are particularly well suited to this approach as they are designed to build on the strength of already existing community relationships to improve community health. This article describes a collaborative, culturally appropriate, holistic, and ecological lay health advisor program--the Latino Health Advocacy Program. Lessons learned and implications for future program development are discussed.
authors.affiliation: St. Louis University School of Public Health, USA.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bouldin
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Durham
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Lowell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jodaitis
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Adams
mesh_terms: D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003150:Community Health Workers; D006293:Health Promotion; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D008404:Massachusetts; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011634:Public Health; D012922:Social Change