A Novel Approach to Improve Health Literacy in Immigrant Communities

Area of Science:

• Community Health
• Health Literacy
• Immigrant Health

Background:

• Anchorage, Alaska, has a significant immigrant and refugee population with limited English proficiency.
• Many residents are unfamiliar with navigating the U.S. healthcare system to access services.
• Ethnic diversity is high, with nearly 100 languages spoken in the public school system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the health literacy needs of immigrant and refugee populations in Anchorage.
• To develop a sustainable program model for disseminating health information within diverse communities.
• To empower non-English speakers to access reliable health and wellness resources.

Main Methods:

• Developed a community-wide Peer Language Navigator (PLN) program.
• Selected participants from an adult literacy program (Alaska Literacy Program) for training.
• Trained individuals to understand health topics and find credible online health information.
• PLNs were equipped to share resources within their respective cultural communities.

Main Results:

• The program successfully provided understandable health information to hundreds of new English learners.
• Participants were guided to reliable health and wellness information for personal and community use.
• Trained PLNs emerged as community leaders, now referred to as peer leader navigators.

Conclusions:

• Training should utilize adult learning principles, focusing on participant-driven topics.
• Collaboration with community organizations is crucial for program reach and sustainability.
• Careful management is needed to prevent overwhelming navigators with requests.
• Compensation for peer leader navigators is recommended to support their community efforts.