Addressing Latino Health Inequities with Enhanced Community Health Workers  

This project has a dual objective: first, to improve the implementation of a community-based health worker intervention aimed at addressing health inequities among Latino communities in New Brunswick, and second, to conduct a process evaluation to refine and strengthen the existing intervention.

New Jersey stands out as one of the most racially and ethnically diverse states in the United States, and within it, New Brunswick is home to a significant concentration of Latinos residing in medically underserved areas. The city faces substantial challenges in delivering quality and timely primary healthcare services to its Latino residents, addressing their sexual and reproductive health needs, and effectively implementing community-engaged strategies to promote health equity among this demographic.

Community health workers have proven to be highly effective in various healthcare roles, including health promotion, patient follow-up, treatment adherence counseling, and guiding patients to access a range of healthcare services. Their presence in under-resourced communities has been instrumental in increasing the utilization of health-related services and enhancing their acceptability. Community health workers play a fundamental role in delivering timely information, facilitating communication and engagement and gathering essential data necessary for monitoring healthcare objectives. This project aims to bolster the implementation of a community-based health worker intervention tailored to the needs of the Latino population in New Brunswick. Additionally, it seeks to provide evidence through a process evaluation, informed by the RE-AIM framework, to further refine and optimize the intervention's execution.