Dr. Triveni DeFries, Dairo Romero and Dr. Marlene Martin, Promoting health: Community health workers address unhealthy substance use

The Program for Education in Drugs and Alcohol for Latine (PEDAL) is an example of a partnership between community-based organizations and addiction medicine clinicians. In this episode the guest discuss their collaboration to co-develop a training program for promotores, also known as community health workers, to address unhealthy substance use in the Latine community, offering a model for building workforce capacity to address increasing rates of overdose amongst Latine in a culturally and linguistically informed approach.

Learning Objectives

• Demonstrate how to develop a collaborative partnership with community-based organizations to build workforce capacity.
• Identify the factors for effective implementation of a curriculum for community health workers.
• Name a strength to building the capacity of community health workers to address substance use.

Host & Guest Bios

1. Host: Marlene Martin, MD, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF, Director of Addiction Initiatives for the Latinx Center of Excellence, a hospitalist at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), and Director of the Addiction Care Team (ACT) at SFGH. Drawn to medicine to address health inequities and social injustices, her interests lie in systems improvement and innovation with a focus on addiction, community partnerships, Latine health, and care transitions. Marlene is committed to transforming systems of care to improve health outcomes for marginalized communities and ensuring that addiction care is compassionate, accessible, and equitable. She co-leads the Program for Education on Drugs and Alcohol for Latine (PEDAL).
2. Triveni DeFries, MD, MPH is a physician and Assistant Professor at the University of California, San Francisco and Core Faculty in the Institute of Global Health Sciences. She practices internal medicine and addiction medicine at San Francisco General Hospital. She is a clinician consultant on the Substance Use Warmline for the National Clinician Consultation Center. She co-leads the Program for Education on Drugs and Alcohol for Latine (PEDAL).
3. Dairo Romero is an immigrant from Colombia with a lifelong passion for social justice, community empowerment, and equity for immigrant and Latino communities. He is Community Initiatives Manager at Mission Economic Development Agency in San Francisco, where he works to advocate for affordable housing in the Mission District. There, he supports families facing displacement and helps build grassroots leadership to fight for dignified living conditions. He helped develop Promotoras Activas SF, a cooperative led by Latina women dedicated to health education, leadership training, and community outreach. He participated in the Program of Education on Drugs and Alcohol, helping to bring awareness and prevention strategies to Latino families and youth.

Timestamps:

• 00:00] Welcome & Episode Overview
• [01:00] Guest Introductions & Roles
• [04:32] How the Program (PEDAL) Started
• [07:59] Promotores: History & Role in Health
• [10:29] Organizational Partnerships Behind the Program
• [13:19] Motivations to Join the Curriculum
• [19:32]

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Funding for this initiative was made possible by cooperative agreement no. 1H79TI086770 from SAMHSA. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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