Hispanic/Latino Health Education and Community Outreach Program

More than one-third of the residents of Perry (population 7,986) identify as Hispanic/Latino. When it comes to healthcare, many Hispanics/Latinos experience disparities due to language barriers, medicine costs or cultural beliefs tied to superstition or home remedies. In an effort to improve health outcomes and reduce disproportionate chronic disease development for this community, Dallas County Hospital would like to establish a trusted community outreach program targeting Latinos/Hispanics that is based on best practices and national recommendations. The goals of the program will be to 1) reduce access to health care barriers for individuals with limited English proficiency, 2) create a culturally competent and linguistically appropriate obesity and chronic disease prevention and management marketing campaign targeting Latino families, and 3) implement and enroll students in a healthy lifestyle/diabetic prevention program taught by a trained Spanish-speaking instructor.