RESUMO
Background: Community health workers, promotoras, have been identified as effective change agents of their community members' health behaviors and health status. However, few studies have examined the effects of delivering an intervention on the promotoras themselves. Objectives: This study assessed whether promotoras delivering a healthy lifestyle intervention for adults improved their health behaviors and health status from baseline to 6- and 12-months post-baseline. Methods: Volunteer promotoras were trained to promote healthy lifestyles including physical activity through workshops and free group exercise classes throughout their communities. Twenty completed all required trainings and delivered at least one class during the period between baseline and 12-month assessments. The promotoras were measured on the following variables: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waist circumference, weight, and height. Additionally, they reported their health behaviors and status including moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, beverage consumption, sleep duration, and depressive symptoms. Results: Repeated measures ANOVAs showed statistically significant decreases from baseline to 6 months for systolic blood pressure (p ≤ 0.05), diastolic blood pressure (p ≤ 0.001) and body mass index (p ≤ 0.05). Changes in self-reported measures were not statistically significant although trends were observed with increases in water consumption. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest positive effects associated with delivery of a PA intervention. This is one of the first studies to focus on a cohort of promotoras to examine health outcomes from delivering a healthy lifestyle intervention. It is important to further explore these impacts on the community health workers as they have become increasingly essential to the health of some communities.
RESUMO
Peer support is effective in improving self-management behaviors and health outcomes among individuals with Type 2 diabetes. Volunteer peer support programs offer a cost-effective resource for diabetes self-management support; however, factors affecting the retention of volunteer peer leaders remain understudied. Herein, we examined factors associated with volunteer retention and satisfaction among 34 predominantly Mexican-origin peer leaders who assisted patients from a Federally Qualified Health Center located on the US/Mexico border with their diabetes management. Peer leaders completed surveys with open- and close-ended questions at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Quantitative and qualitative data analyses were guided by the Volunteer Process Model. Using nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests, self-efficacy as a peer leader at 6 months was most associated with interest to continue volunteering (P = 0.01), and satisfaction with support from the program at 12 months was most associated with interest to continue volunteering (P = 0.01). The qualitative data indicated that the relationship between the peer leaders and their patients was the primary factor for a satisfying volunteer experience. Future research should focus on increasing peer leaders' self-efficacy and satisfaction with program support and examine how organizations can support the development of the patient-peer relationship. Practitioners should consider appealing to volunteer peers' motivations to promote their retention.