Abstract
Drawing from role theory, this study sought to explore the effects of assuming a new role on Latina community health workers (CHW) participating in a cervical cancer prevention program in a new Latino immigrant community located on the East Coast of the United States. Through a series of in-depth, Spanish language interviews with the 4 participants, the researchers explored the process and effects of assuming and enacting the CHW role through a narrative analysis approach. Themes that emerged from the analysis included "Reasons for becoming a promotora," "Vision and reality of the role," "Structuring interactions: The hierarchy of knowledge transmission," and "Transforming identities." Findings showed that assuming the CHW role had transformative effects on the participants that, in the end, allowed them to reconcile disparate aspects of their own immigrant identities. The findings have multiple implications for designing prevention programs employing CHWs and immigrant community strengthening.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 457-473 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Aug 1 2012 |
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The current study was supported by Grant Number UL1RR024134 from the National Center for Research Resources. Dr. Squires’ participation in this study was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the National Institute for Nursing Research, NIH award “Advanced Training in Nursing Outcomes Research” (T32-NR-007104, Linda Aiken, PI).
Keywords
- community health workers
- health promotion
- narrative analysis
- prevention programs
- promotoras
- qualitative research
- roles
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
- Cultural Studies
- Anthropology
- Linguistics and Language
