Project Aims:

This project aims to reduce the spread of the coronavirus among Latinx farm-working communities in the inland desert region of Riverside County. We employ a community based participatory research approach to engage clinical and public health partners and build capacity of key stakeholders to address the needs of farm-working communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. We propose three aims to meet this objective:

Build capacity of promotores, pre-medical and medical student, faculty, and community partners to address the needs of Spanish-speaking Latinx individuals, families, and communities.
Increase access to COVID-19 testing and public health information.
Assess the impact of project activity on access to COVID-19 testing and public health information.

Project Leaders:

• Ann Cheney – Academic lead
• Marc Debay -– Clinical lead
• Evelyn Vázquez – Postdoctoral Scholar
• Maria Pozar – Community Researcher
• Gabriela Ortiz- Graduate Student Researcher
• Ashley Moran – Student Research Assistant
• Salil Trehan – Student Research Assistant
• Emmanuel Chavez- Student Research Assistant

• Lucero Vaca – Student Intern

Team of Promotores:

• Sandra Ramirez – Promotora
• Marilyn Manjarrez Zamora– Promotora
• Rocio Munante Navarro - Promotora
• Sonia Rodriguez – Promotora
• Marisol Peña- Promotora
• Martin Rascón Ruiz- Promotor
• Emanuel Chavez- Promotor

Team of Medical Students:

• Cintya Beltran Sanchez – UCR medical student
• Erica Li – UCR medical student
• Luis Delgado – UCR medical student
• Alexa Pazos – UCR medical student
• Carina Bell- UCR medical student
• Ursula Simonoski- UCR medical student
• Daniel Gehlbach - UCR medical student

What's Happening now:

We are partnering with clinical and public health partners to disseminate our research findings on COVID-19 testing for communities in the Eastern Coachella Valley. We continue to engage community members in COVID-19 discussions and disseminate public health information and resources. Our team built capacity to conduct and focus groups and analyze qualitative data and translate those findings into recommendations to address COVID-19 related testing and vaccination concerns. You can read more in our report in English and Spanish. 

Talks:

Platicas del COVID-19 en vivo

From September 2020 to June 2021, we held 22 virtual “Platicas del COVID-19” reaching over 29,657 Facebook users. These talks were led by a licensed doctor in Mexico accompanied by medical students and promotores. Community members joined these talks either via Zoom or Facebook Live @ Unidoporsalud. Check out our series here.

Platicas en el Pueblo:

These talks brought our platicas into the community. Using an in-home meeting model, our team identified host families who then invited friends and neighbors to join them in a discussion about COVID-19. These talks were held outside. Attendees learned how to properly wear a mask, the importance of staying six feet apart, and how to prevent the spread of the virus. A total of 80 community members in the eastern Coachella Valley participated in these talks.

Self Care in Color / Autocuidando en Color:

Creating and Cultivating Stories for Our Community is a coloring book and zine that brings together self-care activities, self-care resources, and COVID-19 information based on the research from our COVID-19 testing and public health education in the eastern valley. This coloring book/zine was led by young people in the Youth Leadership Institute, ¡Que Madre! Media who care deeply about equity in communities in the eastern valley. See the coloring book/zine and enjoy the art! 

Get Involved/Stay Involved:

You can find more on our Facebook page @Unidoporsalud and Instagram @ coachellavalley_freeclinic