4th Binational Conference for Promotores de Salud

Attendees in breakout session.

About the Conference

Held on Friday, October 2, 2009 in South Padre Island, Texas, the 4th Binational Conference for Promotores de Salud convened nearly 175 promotores, librarians and public health professionals to examine the role of mental health in personal wellness and to study the potential for partnerships among promotores, librarians and community health agencies. The conference was organized by the Mario E. Ramirez, MD Library in partnership with representatives from local health agencies.

Keynote addresses and breakout sessions featured presentations on a variety of mental health topics relevant to the work of promotores de salud, including violence prevention, depression in women, caregiver burden, psychological trauma, depression and diabetes, and the mind-body connection. Librarians from the Mario E. Ramirez, MD Library presented a session on National Library of Medicine Resources for mental wellness. Exhibitors representing a variety of agencies provided information on local community health resources throughout the day.

Round table discussions, facilitated by librarians were conducted during the lunch break on pre-selected topics. The discussions allowed promotores to share their work, experiences, and ideas for collaboration.

Five health sciences librarians from throughout Texas attended the conference as participants in a special program called The Librarians' Experience. This program allowed librarians with an interest in health information outreach to attend the conference and observe a successful model of collaboration between librarians and promotores and assist with the assessment of the project overall.

Attendees dancing during the opening session

Conference Resources

Conference Objectives

Increase promotores' awareness of health information resources, especially those appropriate for the diverse Rio Grande Valley community.
Empower promotores personally and professionally as advocates for health information, health careers and health literacy.
Identify and present opportunities for collaboration among agencies, promotores, and librarians on efforts to disseminate locally relevant health information to the broader community.
Prepare librarians with a demonstrated interest in health information outreach to collaborate with community health workers.

This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Contract No. N01-LM-6-3505 with the Houston Academy of Medicine-Texas Medical Center Library.