Tobacco cessation services through community health workers for Spanish-speaking populations

Partnerships were established with the University of Arizona's Healthcare Partnership to train promotores--Spanish-speaking community health workers--as tobacco cessation counselors. Tobacco Free El Paso certified promotores to help identify tobacco users and offer tobacco cessation counseling services. The project certified 89 participants, of whom 95% were promotores; 88% were Hispanic/Latino, 67% were females, and 62% indicated Spanish as their primary language. Participants who completed Técnicas Básicas, Treatment Specialist, and Déjate de ese Vicio certifications significantly increased self-confidence levels to deliver brief smoking cessation interventions (P < .05). Satisfaction scores (scale = 1-5) were also relatively high for each certification (Técnicas Básicas, mean = 4.8; Treatment Specialist, mean = 4.7; Déjate de ese Vicio, mean = 4.6). The results suggest that promotores understood the concepts and methodologies presented.