San Antonio, TEXAS — This fall, Health Confianza is proud to introduce 15 new Health Confianza Ambassadors trained to help spread the word about preventive health resources in Bexar County, create connections with hard-to-reach populations and serve as advocates who create and disseminate innovative preventive health messages.
Health Confianza, a four-year-old multi-level health literacy initiative that provides programming for organizations, the health workforce and community, trained these 15 natural community leaders in core health literacy and effective health communications principles, with the goal of designing and delivering scientifically accurate preventive health information, that is both culturally and linguistically appropriate.
Health Confianza teamed up with its partners — Southside Collaborative, South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC), WestCare Texas and YWCA San Antonio —to identify natural leaders, those people in the community who are serving their neighbors either as volunteers, community health workers or public health advocates.
“We are excited that these trusted and respected community leaders have chosen to join our initiative and to serve as community health educators and resources for our community,” said Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, associate professor of Medicine, director of Global Health Education at the Cheever Center for Medical Humanities and Ethics, and co-director of Health Confianza. “As a core principle for Health Confianza, we aim to provide health information that is accessible and understandable, so each individual can make the best, informed health decisions for themselves and their families. Partnering with trusted and respected local leaders in the design and dissemination of messages allows us to center the voice and perspectives of our diverse Bexar County community in that strategy.”
As part of this work, they will be creating innovative messages and content to share, as well as promoting important preventive health information with the community on issues including child health, chronic disease prevention, and mental wellness promotion.
At the same time, they will also help Health Confianza elevate community strengths and needs.
“We look forward to seeing the different ways that our Health Confianza Ambassadors will help our communities take time to focus on their health and encourage healthy actions, including prioritizing screenings, vaccines, annual check-ups, and mental health,” Rosenfeld said.
Health Confianza’s Ambassadors (By Sponsoring Organization):
Health Confianza
Timoteo Barrientez
Candi Diaz
Amanda Onochie
South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC)
Alice Alvarez
Edna Cruz
Dre Rodriguez
Southside Collaborative
Lisa Espinoza
Alicia Sanchez-Esquivel
Jorgette Gueda
WestCare Texas
Chris Garry
Jocelyn Gonzalez
D’Ajia Goodlow
Sarah Montejano
Krystal Rojas
Jessica Route