TY - JOUR

T1 - Empowerment of Promotoras as Promotora-Researchers in the comidas saludables & gente sana en las Colonias del sur de Tejas (healthy food and healthy people in South Texas Colonias) program

AU - St. John, Julie A.

AU - Johnson, Cassandra M.

AU - Sharkey, Joseph R.

AU - Dean, Wesley R.

AU - Arandia, Gabriela

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Promotoras are trusted members of underserved, at-risk Hispanic communities experiencing social and health inequities. As promotora-researchers, promotoras have the unique ability and opportunity not only to provide outreach and education but also to be actively engaged in conducting research in their communities and serve as a cultural bridge between the community and researchers. In this article, we present a case study of personal and collective empowerment of six promotora-researchers who participated in seven community-based participatory research projects. Data sources included debriefing interviews with the promotora-researchers, milestone tracking and documentation completed during and after each study, and observations by the principal investigator and project managers regarding the role of the promotora-researchers in these studies. We qualitatively analyzed the data to identify the processes and decisions that were developed and implemented in a series of projects, which resulted in promotora-researcher empowerment. We found that active engagement empowered promotora-researchers personally and collectively in all phases of the research study. Common elements that contributed to the empowerment of promotora-researchers were valuing promotora-researchers' input, enabling promotora-researchers to acquire and utilize new skills, and allowing promotora-researchers to serve as both researchers and traditional promotoras. Together, these elements enabled them to more fully participate in research projects, while allowing them to identify and address needs within their own communities.

AB - Promotoras are trusted members of underserved, at-risk Hispanic communities experiencing social and health inequities. As promotora-researchers, promotoras have the unique ability and opportunity not only to provide outreach and education but also to be actively engaged in conducting research in their communities and serve as a cultural bridge between the community and researchers. In this article, we present a case study of personal and collective empowerment of six promotora-researchers who participated in seven community-based participatory research projects. Data sources included debriefing interviews with the promotora-researchers, milestone tracking and documentation completed during and after each study, and observations by the principal investigator and project managers regarding the role of the promotora-researchers in these studies. We qualitatively analyzed the data to identify the processes and decisions that were developed and implemented in a series of projects, which resulted in promotora-researcher empowerment. We found that active engagement empowered promotora-researchers personally and collectively in all phases of the research study. Common elements that contributed to the empowerment of promotora-researchers were valuing promotora-researchers' input, enabling promotora-researchers to acquire and utilize new skills, and allowing promotora-researchers to serve as both researchers and traditional promotoras. Together, these elements enabled them to more fully participate in research projects, while allowing them to identify and address needs within their own communities.

KW - Border health

KW - Empowerment

KW - Food security

KW - Mexican-origin

KW - Nutrition

KW - Promotora-researcher

KW - Promotoras

U2 - 10.1007/s10935-013-0296-1

DO - 10.1007/s10935-013-0296-1

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 23404423

AN - SCOPUS:84876729531

VL - 34

SP - 41

EP - 57

JO - Journal of Primary Prevention

JF - Journal of Primary Prevention

SN - 0278-095X

IS - 1-2

ER -