title: Program planners' perspectives of promotora roles, recruitment, and selection.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Program planners work with promotoras (the Spanish term for female community health workers) to reduce health disparities among underserved populations. Based on the Role-Outcomes Linkage Evaluation Model for Community Health Workers (ROLES) conceptual model, we explored how program planners conceptualized the promotora role and the approaches and strategies they used to recruit, select, and sustain promotoras.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a purposive convenience sample of 24 program planners, program coordinators, promotora recruiters, research principal investigators, and other individuals who worked closely with promotoras on United States-based health programs for Hispanic women (ages 18 and older).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Planners conceptualized the promotora role based on their personal experiences and their understanding of the underlying philosophical tenets of the promotora approach. Recruitment and selection methods reflected planners' conceptualizations and experiences of promotoras as paid staff or volunteers. Participants described a variety of program planning and implementation methods. They focused on sustainability of the programs, the intended health behavior changes or activities, and the individual promotoras.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To strengthen health programs employing the promotora delivery model, job descriptions should delineate role expectations and boundaries and better guide promotora evaluations. We suggest including additional components such as information on funding sources, program type and delivery, and sustainability outcomes to enhance the ROLES conceptual model. The expanded model can be used to guide program planners in the planning, implementing, and evaluating of promotora health programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, USA. alexis.koskan@moffitt.org
authors.forename: Alexis M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Koskan
authors.forename: Deanne K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Hilfinger Messias
authors.forename: Daniela B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Friedman
authors.forename: Heather M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Brandt
authors.forename: Katrina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Walsemann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D054625:Healthcare Disparities; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D018579:Patient Selection; D012380:Role; D014481:United States; D016387:Women's Health; D055815:Young Adult