An initiative of Farmworker Justice to promote health and reduce health disparities in Rural Latino communities

Farmworker Justice's HIV Program History

Poder Sano - HIV/AIDS

Trainings

Farmworker Justice staff have been providing trainings in a variety of subject areas for more than a decade.

• Promotores de Salud: Starting in 1997, FJ has trained promotores de salud (community health workers) in Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, Oregon, Arkansas, and Washington on topics ranging from HIV/AIDS to to environmental health to advocacy.
• Materials Development: We have also organized and conducted training on creating culturally competent HIV prevention materials for the Latino community including fotonovelas (educational comic book-style pamphlets illustrated with photos) and radionovelas (episodic Spanish-language dramatic educational series over the radio) and writing and acting in community-based health promotion plays (teatro campesino).
• Evidence Based Interventions: FJ staff provided trainings and coaching in the Popular Opinion Leader (POL), MPowerment and Community PROMISE HIV prevention programs sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  FJ implemented POL and MPowerment for young, migrant men who have sex with men alongside community partners Vista Community Clinic (Vista, CA) and Valley AIDS Council (McAllen, TX).

 

Technical Assistance

The health division of FJ works with community based organizations and health departments in order to develop, maintain, and evaluate effective HIV prevention programs. In all of these cases, FJ has provided advice through conference calls, on-site visits, through trainings, or through handbooks, tools and other written documents. As part of our CBA services, FJ has worked with organizations to not only provide technical assistance on specific tasks, but has also provided long-term capacity building to improve projects. FJ takes a holistic role in building the organization's programs and increasing their overall capacity to provide quality HIV interventions within the Latino community.

 

Curriculum Development

FJ has developed Promotores de Salud training curricula for farmworker communities in the areas of HIV/AIDS prevention, pesticide safety, asthma/air pollution, lead poisoning, clean drinking water/sanitation, and grass-roots advocacy.

From 2005-2009, FJ worked directly with CDC on the dissemination of science-based prevention interventions. FJ staff co-authored the Popular Opinion Leader (POL) curriculum and are national trainers on the intervention. In 2008, FJ wrote and piloted an adaptation of POL, POL for the Latino Community, in Santa Ana, CA and Naples, FL. The adaptation examines the diversity among Latinos and provides participants with guidance on implementing POL within their Latino communities through various culturally competent activities and tools.

Conferences, Summits, and Forums

FJ's health staff can be found making presentations or exhibiting at booths in the following major conferences:  HIV Prevention Leadership Summit (HPLS), United States Conference on AIDS (USCA), National HIV Prevention Conference (NHPC), National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Conference, the American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference, National Farmworker Health Forum, Western Migrant Stream Forum, Midwest Stream Farmworker Health Forum, and East Coast Migrant Stream Forum.

In 2004, FJ organized a binational summit of promotores de salud and providers around HIV prevention on the US/Mexico border, and developed a directory of providers available for dissemination on its website.