The NCLR/CSULB Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training

Overview

The NCLR/CSULB Center for Latino Community Health, Evaluation, and Leadership Training, a partnership between the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), will work to support health promotion and disease prevention programs in underserved Latino communities nationwide. It will accomplish this by providing technical assistance to NCLR affiliates and other community-based organizations to inform research and develop program evaluation tools and effectiveness measures, increase the number of Latinos in health professions, and provide evidence to feed health policy processes at the local, state, and national levels.

The Center will also convene practitioners and scholars to discuss, analyze, and develop policy strategies and program recommendations that will contribute to the elimination of health disparities among Latinos.

Initial funding for the Center was obtained through the support of a Congressional Earmark supported by the Congressional Hispanic Health Task Force in 2005. NCLR and CSULB have initially selected a number of ongoing projects to be housed at the Center. Examples of these are outlined below. Additional projects and initiatives are in development.

The NCLR Latino Families HIV/AIDS Prevention Project
Based on the results of a groundbreaking multiyear, 14-site national needs assessment of 322 HIV-positive and high-risk Latinos, a peer education and media campaign to prevent HIV infection and AIDS as well as improve rates of HIV testing among Latinos is being tested. Educational materials, including brochures and public service announcements in Spanish and English, will be distributed. In addition, HIV-positive Latino peer advocates and HIV-negative promotores are being trained to provide targeted outreach and education, while promoting HIV testing and facilitating early access to HIV treatment for underserved Latinos.

NCLR Promotores de Salud Sana La Rana Project
The Sana la Rana heart health project, supported by Pfizer, involves the use of NCLR-trained promotores in Houston and Miami. This project serves to educate Latinos regarding the effects of cholesterol on heart health and to facilitate cholesterol testing and the dietary changes needed to affect positive cardiovascular health outcomes.

The NCLR Latino Mental Health Summit
The Latino Mental Health Summit, sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company, was convened in February 2005 and brought together leading Latino researchers and practitioners to participate in the creation of a white paper regarding Latino mental health status and access issues. More than 400 participants attended the summit. A copy of the white paper entitled Critical Disparities in Latino Mental Health: Transforming Research into Action can be downloaded here.

Guías de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
The Guías Project has trained a cadre of Spanish-speaking promotores, housed at St. Francis Hospital, to provide pre- and postpartum visits to Spanish-speaking Latinas in an effort to provide participants both education and social support, while connecting them to health-protective resources and programs. Goal-setting is facilitated at each visit while concurrent educational objectives are met, which include: assessment of depression, vaccination education, breastfeeding promotion, birth preparation, nutrition education, discipline and parenting strategies, and several other infant health parameters.

The Latino Healthcare Professionals Project
The Latino Healthcare Professionals Project (LHPP) was established in 1996 to ameliorate the lack of Latino leadership in health care. Funded collaboratively by a number of foundations and health care organizations, this unique curriculum, scholarship, and mentorship program trains first-generation-educated, Spanish-speaking, bilingual/bicultural Latino students with a strong community service background in Latino health and administration issues.

Upcoming events include a Summit on HIV/AIDS and Latinas, the establishment of an advisory board with local and national leaders, publication of a white paper regarding Latino mental health issues, a Town Hall Meeting regarding Latino health issues, and the establishment of a national repository of Latino health-related information.