Salud Familiar | Family Health

Funder: PacificSource Charitable Foundation
Project Summary:

The goals of the program will be to: 1-enhance Latino families’ understanding of chronic disease and associated risk factors and 2-support them in making behavioral and/or lifestyle changes to their lower risks for chronic disease. Salud Familiar will utilize the We Can! obesity prevention curriculum developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute which utilizes leadership development to affect behavioral and lifestyle changes to increase physical activity, healthy nutrition and to reduce screen time.

In addition this relationship based program will address not only health factors but also social determinants that impact health such as family violence, substance abuse, unemployment, substandard housing and economic challenges. Traditional public health approaches to lower risks for chronic disease for Latino families have had limited results. Prevention or “upstream” approaches are needed to reach those children most at risk in Oregon and must address three components: 1) cultural beliefs including cultural influences and norms; 2) physical activity and dietary behaviors, and, 3) environmental factors through building leadership and advocacy skills.

The Family Health Educator will work closely with Wellness Wheels health screening events and assist Latino families who are referred to clinics for follow up. The Family Health Educator will also make referrals for families needing additional support resources.

Salud Familiar fits very nicely with the mission of PacificSource Charitable Foundation to support organizations and programs in an attempt to improve health status emphasizing children and youth. Our program is designed for uninsured and underinsured youth who lack access to health information designed to prevent chronic disease.

The project will outreach to low income Latino families in the Portland metropolitan area. All families will be eligible, however, the target population will be younger more acculturated families who may be at risk for obesity and chronic disease.

For further information please contact Omar Cervantes at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it