Training and Exchange
HIA's training and exchange programs are focused on three distinct regions within the field of health care: Health Professionals (e.g. doctors, health personnel, administrators, and health program directors), Medical and Nursing Students (mainly from the UC system), and Promotoras/es (community outreach workers). Individuals from each of these sectors perform their own valuable role in providing access to care to the public, and HIA has developed three tailored programs: Informative Health Journeys (Jornadas Informativas de Salud), the UC-Mexico Medical and Nursing Student Immersion Program and the Binational Promotoras/es Program. The common objective of the training and exchange strategy is to enrich their knowledge base from a binational perspective and develop workforce cultural competency.
Jornadas Informativas de Salud
Health professionals who participate in the HIA program Jornadas Informativas de Salud travel from the United States to Mexico for a four-day immersion in Mexico's health delivery system—a system quite different from that of the United States. Participants attend workshops, seminars, trainings, and visit health facilities such as clinics and hospitals with the goal of becoming not only more knowledgeable about Mexico's health delivery system, but also better understand the migrant’s expectations and assumptions when seeking care in the United States.
UC-Mexico Medical and Nursing Student Immersion Program
It is fact that there is an enormous discrepancy in California between the number of Spanish-speaking doctors and nurses and Spanish-speaking patients. HIA has developed this UC-Mexico Medical and Nursing Student Immersion Program to alleviate a small portion of this need. Selected UC medical and nursing students spend 4 weeks over the summer in Mexico learning medical Spanish and participating in patient rounds with Mexican doctors who actively engage and tutor the students. All the students stay with families during the program, which allows for a full cultural emersion.
Binational Promotoras/es Program
Promotoras/es spend time in the community providing health education and health promotion to community members. A number of promotoras/es have some level of formal health training, such as nursing or midwifery, while others have learned their skills from a parent or mentor. Historically, promotoras/es have been one of the major outlets for health care for rural populations in Mexico, and to some extent migration has brought this trend to California. Because of their position within the community and the respect and trust that the promotoras/es have earned, often they are readily able to transmit health messages and services to this mobile population. HIA developed its Promotoras/es Exchange Program in order to augment their knowledge with migration-based health information to better serve Latino migrants in California and Mexico. Selected promotoras/es from both countries travel across the border to attend workshops and visit rural and urban areas where migrants go (in the case of promotoras/es from Mexico), and where migrants come from (in the case of promotoras/es from California). Much like the health professionals, the promotoras/es are trained in health issues that commonly affect migrants, from nutrition and occupational health to mental health problems, for example. In collaboration with key Mexican institutions, HIA has developed three promotoras/es training manuals on mental health, occupational health and safety, and sexual and reproductive health of migrant women.
Binational Health Week
This year, the Ninth BHW will take place October 3-15, 2009 in 40 states in the U.S. and 3 provinces in Canada, with the participation of the consular networks of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Additionally, during BHW five national campaigns will be implemented to promote awareness among the underserved Latino community on H1N1 Influenza, Prevention of Addictions, Nutrition, Prevention of Strokes, and Living Green.
More information about BHW events