Innovative Coalition Aims to Decrease Health Disparities in San Diego County
Date: 9/3/2015
Number: 15-065
Contact: Anita Gore, Orville Thomas (916) 440 7259
SAN DIEGO ā California Department of Public Health Director and State Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith today announced the formation of the San Diego County Promotores Coalition (SDCPC), designed to reach underserved populations and decrease health disparities in San Diego County.
āPromotores are community health workers who play an important role in promoting community-based health education and prevention in a manner that is culturally and linguistically appropriate,ā Dr. Smith said. āTheir work is particularly important in communities that have been historically underserved and underinsured.ā
CDPHās Office of Binational Border Health (OBBH) worked alongside
several San Diego-based organizations to form SDCPC. The mission of SDCPC is to promote and recognize the work of promotores, and to support organizations that work alongside them to increase access to services for San Diego County residents.
Promotores/community health workers (CHWs) are frontline health workers who have a close understanding of the communities they serve, enabling them to serve as intermediaries between the community and health and social services. Promotores facilitate access to services and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
The coalition will help train and develop promotores/CHWs, advance the work of promotores/CHWs within local agencies and the community, serve as a central resource for promotores/CHWs and agencies, serve as an advisory group on curriculum development to improve promotores/CHWs professional skills and inform promotores/CHWs about issues affecting their communities.
Established in 1999,
OBBHās mission is to facilitate cooperation between health officials and professionals in California and Mexico in order to reduce the risk of disease in the California border region and in those areas directly affected by border health conditions.
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