Program Results"Clinics where the Camp Health Aide Program is in place report improvements in usage"
Excerpt from the Journal for Minority Medical Students1
Note: The Camp Health Aide Program is Migrant Health Promotion’s original Promotor(a) program model.
“Access to care is a significant problem for seasonal [and migrant farm] workers, a population that has more than the usual obstacles – poverty and lack of insurance – blocking access to health care. They are also isolated from the medical establishment due to language, cultural and geographic barriers.
“The Camp Health Aide Program removes these obstacles. The Health Aides become health promoters within their community and liaisons between the farmworkers and the medical community.
“Many of the healthcare activities performed by the Aides take place in the farmworkers’ homes. Without cultural and language barriers, the farmworkers and their families can feel comfortable discussing their healthcare concerns. When someone is ill, the Aides’ understanding of the fears and barriers camp residents face, as well as the language they speak, allows them to offer support and to translate physician instructions.
“In turn they help physicians and other healthcare providers understand their patients’ needs by eliminating cultural or linguistic misunderstandings.
“Clinics where the Camp Health Aide Program is in place report improvements in usage after farmworkers better understand when it is necessary to seek treatment. They see fewer colds, and more patients seek help for infections early, before the condition escalates. With physician treating problems before they become severe, the number of emergency room visits has been reduced.”
(1) Hart, K. L. (Ed.). (1997). Bureau of Primary Health Care’s models that work. Journal for Minority Medical Students, 9 (3), BB1-BB12.
