“If They Don’t Ask About Condoms, I Just Tell Them”: A Descriptive Case Study of Latino Lay Health Advisers’ Helping Activities

• Published in: Health education & behavior Vol. 30; no. 1; pp. 79 - 96
• Main Authors: McQuiston, Chris, Flaskerud, Jacquelyn H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thousand Oaks, CA SAGE Publications 01.02.2003; Sage; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Attitude to Health - ethnology; Biological and medical sciences; Communication Barriers; Community Health Workers; Condoms - utilization; Female; Health Education - manpower; Health Education - organization & administration; Health Promotion - manpower; Health Promotion - organization & administration; HIV; HIV Infections - ethnology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Male; Medical personnel; Medical sciences; Mexican Americans - education; Mexican Americans - psychology; Minority & ethnic groups; North Carolina; Organizational Case Studies; Prevention and actions; Program Evaluation; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Qualitative Research; Sexual Behavior - ethnology; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - ethnology; Sexually Transmitted Diseases - prevention & control; Social Support; Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...); Tropical medicine; Vulnerable Populations; North Carolina; Central America; Mexico; United States; North America; America; evaluation; HIV; Latino; lay health advisers; Human; Immunopathology; Evaluation; Sanitary program; Condom; Immigrant; Health promotion; Retroviridae; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Lentivirus; Infection; Virus; Prevention; Viral disease; Human immunodeficiency virus; Public health
• ISSN: 1090-1981; 1552-6127
• DOI: 10.1177/1090198102239260

Health care practitioners have increasingly turned to lay health advisers (LHAs) to deliver health promotion and disease prevention supportive activities to underserved populations. Yet, published evaluations of the LHA programs or the manner in which LHAs deliver information are rare. An important aspect of program evaluation includes understanding the role of the LHA in the community as described by the LHAs in the field. The purpose of this article is to report the results of a component of a larger evaluation of an LHA program for preventing HIV/AIDS among recently immigrated Mexicans in North Carolina. Specifically, the authors use a descriptive case study design to report on the perceptions of the LHAs related to program objectives. The findings suggest that the LHAs are meeting the program objectives and are confident in their role as LHAs.