Impact of a Primary Care Navigation Training for Promotoras de Salud

Background: Promotoras de Salud are especially effective at providing navigational services for ethnic minorities. However, the literature indicates gaps in standardized training methods, curriculum, and evaluation tools of Promotoras in navigation training (Hou & Roberson, 2015; Scott et al., 2018).

Methods: Seven Promotoras de Salud were recruited through snowball sampling to participate in a patient navigation training, and were given resource mapping binders with detailed clinic profiles. The project was a one group pretest/post-test design to measure the effect of a navigation curriculum on Promotoras knowledge, self-efficacy, and satisfaction.

Findings: After a Spanish language primary care navigation education intervention, knowledge increased from the pretest mean of 9 (SD = 0.58) to a post-test mean of 9.71 (SD = 0.49) out of a total score of 10. Change in total knowledge pre and post-intervention approached significance (p = 0.059). There was no statistical significance (p = 0.116) between pre- and post-intervention total self-efficacy change scores. The mean satisfaction results post-intervention were 32.29 (SD = 3.3) out of 35.

Conclusion: Participants were able to reinforce pre-knowledge primary care navigation knowledge and increased their knowledge after a primary care navigation training. Satisfaction was high for a primary care navigation training that included both active and passive learning strategies. Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) and Registered Nurses (RN’s) are effective as educators and curriculum creators for Promotora trainings. Promotoras in this region are highly knowledgeable and confident in primary care navigation, and meet the need of this geographical region to navigate Spanish speaking patients towards primary care. Furthermore, the creation of navigation tools such as a resource binder of primary care clinics assists Promotores in guiding patients towards primary health care.