THE SALUD MANUAL
Our Work
LCH has participated in various projects related to health and technology. The combination provides the community an opportunity to learn two things at once: health advocacy and technology. All our workshops included teaching the un/under-insured community how to use the Internet to look for and find health resources, as well as teaching them how to overcome barriers in the health system.
| Basic | Using a mouse and keyboard; Microsoft Word and Open Office; Basic Internet; Creating and using an email account. |
|---|---|
| Intermediate | Advanced searching on the Internet; Using email to send attachments; Using digital cameras and putting photos on the computer; Intermediate use of Microsoft Word and Open Office. |
| Advanced | These workshop themes varied but often included information on maintaining and cleaning a computer and using Skype and Windows Messenger. |
Details of our work over the past 5 years:
- Nearly 800 people from the community have increased their computer skills as well as ability to find needed health resources in the Salud Manual (now mycommunitynm.org).
- Nearly 300 service providers received training on how to refer clients/patients to low cost services listed in our site. They also referred us to their clients and other organizations interested in received training.
- 30 community leaders received workshops that helped them know where to refer/take clients as well as know what to do to help clients overcome health barriers.
Southwest Creations Collaborative, 2007 – Present
Two of the team members of LCH(Marina Garcia y Judith Garcia) provide computer classes to employees at Southwest Creations. These classes help Since Southwest Creations with meeting their goal of helping their employees to develop skills for a better future. By learning computer skills, the employees are then also great examples to their children.
Salud Manual (Print-version), September 2008
In 2008 we printed 6000 copies of the Salud Manual and all copies were sold out within 7 months. This demonstrates the demand for service providers and clients to have information about services that do not require health insurance and where services are provided in both English and Spanish. We continue to receive orders and plan to print again in 2010. In this edition we released our 4th educational comic which teaches consumers about the difference between the emergency room and urgent care. The comics are true stories we have written for the community. They are themes the community identifies with and which help them understand how to overcome barriers in the health system.
1000 Friends of New Mexico, August – October 2008
This project involved guiding 2 walks in the neighborhoods La Mesa and Trumbull. We guided walks to raise awareness about how to improve our streets, as well as how the built environment is related to community health. LCH planned and organized both walks, as well as designed health communication posters and checklists that helped the larger community understand how important it is to have safe, beautiful, and healthy streets and sidewalks.
St. Joseph Community Health, October – November 2008
LCH led 4 more walks in the neighborhoods: San Pedro, La Mesa, Trumbull and Elder Homestead. There were 33 participants who were community members and providers. Guests at these walks were led by representatives of LCH in a conversation where everyone expressed their ideas regarding the safety, beauty, and problems in the streets and how these relate to health. St. Joseph chose LCH because of our experience working with the community and because we come from these communities and understand the needs that exist.
Collaboration with UNM, June 2007 – March 2008
LCH, Professor Tamar Ginossar, and Professor Gill Woodall worked together on a mental health for the National Institute of Health. For this we shared our perspectives of the community. We also offered our ideas and our experience for a article entitled "Using Internet Community-Based Interventions to Increase Information Empowerment and Access to Health Care of Low Income Latino Immigrants" which will be published in Communication Education on Health Promotion.
UNM School of Public Health, March 2009 – September 2009
For this we organized community focus groups and classes for a nutrition-related project run through the UNM School of Public Health. We helped organize four nutrition classes which focused on research concerning the nutrition of children and adults. We are also working with this group to write a National Institute of Health grant related to child nutrition and food access in immigrant families.
Leadership for LCH, 2003 – 2009
LCH had leadership training in conjunction with Community Health Partnership (no longer exists), St. Joseph Community Health and El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos to learn how to advocate for our rights and how to help other people do so in the community. As leaders we play an important role in helping the community connect to information and change the health system.
