This article describes results of year-1 implementation of the Salud Para Su Corazón (Health For Your Heart)-National Council of la Raza (NCLR) promotora (lay health worker) program for promoting heart-healthy behaviors among Latinos. Findings of this community outreach initiative include data from promotora pledges and self-skill behaviors, cardiovascular disease risk factors of Latino families, family heart-health education delivery, and program costs associated with promotora time. Participation included 29 trained promotoras serving 188 families from three NCLR affiliates in Escondido, California; Chicago, Illinois; and Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. Using several evaluation tools, the results showed that the promotora approach worked based on evidence obtained from the following indicators: changes in promotora's pre-post knowledge and performance skills, progress toward their pledge goals following training, recruiting and teaching families, providing follow-up, and organizing or participating in community events. Strengths and limitations of the promotora model approach are also discussed.

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Female family caregivers of various global cultures provide basic care in health, social, emotional, and financial domains for family members with cancer and may sacrifice their own health to do so. To learn about role-related mood, health status self-perceptions, and burden of one cultural group, we used qualitative and quantitative approaches to study 34 Mexican American (MA) women who provided care for an ill family member with cancer. We report quantitative data on study variables and make comparisons with caregiver qualitative reports. Implications for health planning, service delivery, and future research with underserved, minority female caregivers are presented.

We explore the association between quality of diet and food security status among older persons. Cross-sectional survey of large national samples, from the National Health & Nutrition Examination Surveys (1988Surveys ( -1994Surveys ( & 2001Surveys ( -2002, in the United States. A total of 5,039 and 2,040 men and women aged 60 and older, respectively. The dependent variable was the healthy eating index (HEI; as a measure of diet quality. The independent variable of interest was food security status and was categorized as food secure, food insecurity receiving food stamps and food insecurity not receiving food stamps. In multivariate analyses, food insecure individuals not receiving food stamps had lower total HEI-2000 scores compared to food secure individuals (b=-3.91, SE=1.81, P=0.0310). Factors independently associated with high HEI (2000 or 2005) scores were female gender, being married, highly educated or wealthy, with very good/ excellent perceived health, or without functional limitations. Food secure individuals had better quality of diet than food insecure individuals. Among food insecure individuals, receiving food stamps was not associated with diet quality. Food insecure families with older individuals may need new methods of dissemination of food and nutrition programs -methods that yield positive and promising changes in the health status of this special population group.

Background: Age-adjusted cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality rates for Hispanics are lower than for non-Hispanics. However, CVD is the leading cause of death among Hispanics, and there is an increasing heart health problem among this population. One strategy for preventing CVD is the use of community health workers (CHWs). A CHW is a member of the community who disseminates information, attempts to foster healthy behavior, and provides education, advice, social support, and assistance to the community. Although the effi cacy of CHWs has been tested, few studies have examined their effectiveness in educating communities and facilitating behavior change. Purpose: This study explored whether trained CHWs can effectively deliver education on heart-healthy behaviors among Hispanics. Methods: Two group of participants received education programs delivered by CHWs, popularly known in the Hispanic community as promotores de salud. A pretest/post-test design was implemented to assess intervention effect. Analyses included sample t-test, chi-square (χ 2 ), and Mann-Whitney U Test. Results: The two groups differed in demographics and pre-existing risk factors (p<.05). Participants in both groups signifi cantly improved their healthy behaviors (p<.01). Discussion: Observed improvement in healthy behaviors in both participant groups strengthens the argument that the community health outreach promotores model may be effective and can be adapted to a variety of settings. Translation to Health Education Practice: The results of this study support the utilization of CHWs.

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