The REACH Promotora Community Coalition

The REACH Promotora Community Coalition, led by Migrant Health Promotion, has developed a program to address diabetes along the border of Texas and Mexico. The coalition targets communities in Hidalgo and Cameron counties, which are more than 80% Mexican American and have some of the lowest socioeconomic indicators, with more than 35% of their residents living below the poverty line. Developing the full potential of the community health workers (promotoras) is key to this program. The promotoras not only serve the community as health educators and advocates, but also are trained to become community leaders as they gain experience as community organizers, program planners, and program evaluators. The target population lives in colonias, which are communities with little infrastructure. Therefore, it is vital to use existing institutions such as public schools, community health clinics, and community-based organizations to reach this population. Also, because many adults lack access to transportation or telephones, much of the work is conducted through home visits and neighborhood meetings.

The goal of this program is to reduce the rate of diabetes along the border of Texas and Mexico.

As a result of the Migrant Health Promotion project, school health teams have been created to assess existing nutritional choices and opportunities for physical activity in schools and suggest measures to improve these choices and opportunities at school and at home. This community-based approach can extend lifesaving prevention programs and health services across cultural divides to communities that would not likely be reached by traditional means.