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Journal of Community Health
Published in: Journal of Community Health 1/2015

01-02-2015 | Original Paper

Engaging Men as Promotores de Salud: Perceptions of Community Health Workers Among Latino Men in North Carolina

Authors: Laura Villa-Torres, Paul J. Fleming, Clare Barrington

Published in: Journal of Community Health | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

The promotor de salud, or community health worker (CHW) role, is highly feminized and little is known about how men view their participation in CHW programs. We conducted in-depth interviews with Latino men in North Carolina to explore this gap. We used systematic coding and display procedures informed by Grounded Theory to analyze the data. Men described their communities as lacking cohesion, making integration of Latino immigrants difficult. Most did not consider themselves leaders or feel they had leaders in their communities. Their perceptions of the feminized CHW role as well as the volunteer or low-paid nature of CHW work conflicted with men’s provider role. They also did not think they could perform the CHW role because they lacked education, skills, and broad networks. Efforts to increase male participation in CHW programs in new Latino immigrant destinations will need to understand and address these gender and migration-related dynamics in order to engage both women and men in improving the health of their communities.
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Metadata
Title
Engaging Men as Promotores de Salud: Perceptions of Community Health Workers Among Latino Men in North Carolina
Authors
Laura Villa-Torres
Paul J. Fleming
Clare Barrington
Publication date
01-02-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Community Health / Issue 1/2015
Print ISSN: 0094-5145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3610
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-014-9915-x

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