Latino Family Advisory Board Yearly Report, 2014-2015
Lea el reporte en español haciendo clic en este enlace
Our Consejo
Our Latino Family Advisory Board ( El Consejo de Familias Latinas) is composed of Spanish –speaking families from the community who are dedicated to helping promote and create better health services to meet Latino families’ needs. Our monthly meetings are an opportunity for researchers, pediatricians and social workers from the Bayview Children’s Medical Practice (CMP) to meet with families that receive care at the clinic and talk about the challenges Latinos face in receiving health care. The Consejo was established in 2011 by Dr. Lisa DeCamp and Dr. Sarah Polk, both pediatricians at CMP. This year, we cel ebrate our 4th year of engaging Spanish-speaking Latino families to improve healthcare services.
Our members and meetings
• 18 active members from the community
• Members are Latino immigrant families who have been receiving care at CMP f or an average of 7 years (range 3-13)
• Community LFAB members come from countries throughout Central and South America
• Members have been living in the US for an average of 13 years (range 9-25)
• Members have been part of the Consejo for an average of 2.8 years (range 1-4)
• 8 have been members since the start of the board in 2011
• We had ten meetings from September 2014 – June 2015
• Staff members on the Consejo are Dr. DeCamp, Dr. Polk, and Flor Giusti (social worker). Other staff members who contribute are: Monica Guerrero, Gaby Calderon Vasquez, Doris Val enzuela-Araujo, and Ceal Curry
Board members were welcomed with food from a local restaurant, childcare in a separate area, a meeting agenda, and a place where opinions were heard and valued.
Consejo Projects 2014 – 2015
• Members supported development of an educational video to encourage pregnant moms to screen their baby for birth defects. Our families focused on how to deliver medical information to Spanish -speaking moms in a way that was easy to understand. The presenter in the video is one of our members.
• The Consejo provided feedback in developing linguistically appropriate educational materials on child nutrition and mental health screening among children in Spanish-speaking families.
• Our members also worked enthusiastically on the development of a new project called Salud al Dia. This will be a pilot study to l ook at ways to improve patient engagement and use of the healthcare system via text messages and educational videos. Families in the Consejo worked on designing culturally appropriate videos and edited text message transcripts to improve comprehensibility f or Spanish-speaking families.
Extending the reach of the council
Some of our families took part in events around the community. Two members participated in a conference by the Institute for Excellence in Education whose goal was to learn how to better communicate with patients that have limited English proficiency. Other members helped in the filming of a video encouraging Latinos in Baltimore to get tested for HIV. Lastly, two of our members attended meetings of the Patient and Family Centered-Care Clinical Community as representatives of our Consejo.
OUR MEMBER’S THOUGHTS
In our last meeting, members completed the Patient Family Advisory Council Evaluation. All members were strongly satisfied with their participation in our Consejo. When asked about the best part of the board, members said:
• “I always have fun, I learn, and I improve.”
• “The meetings are always clear and lively, and with lots kindness and respect.”
• “The doctors help me a lot with i nformation on how to take care of my child.”
• “Everyone’s opinion is always heard.”
GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR
• Improve the phone system to make appointments for better access to Spanish -speakers
• Have clearer instructions for how to give medicine to your child by assuring that the pharmacy and doctor agree on the correct dosage
• Improve the quality of translation provide d by the telephone interpreters
• Have more Consejo meetings throughout the year
OUR CONSEJO IN PRESS
• The Quad Screen: Una Prueba de Sangre, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k5g-TAXgj8
• DeCamp LR, Gregory E, Polk S, Chrismer M, Giusti F, Thompson DA, Sibinga E. A Voice and a Vote: The
Advisory Board Experiences of Spanish-Speaking Latina Mothers. Hispanic Health Care International.
• DeCamp LR, Polk S, Chrismer M, Giusti F, Thompson DA, Sibinga E. Healthcare Engagement of Limited English Proficient Latino Families: Lessons Learned from Advisory Board Development. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action.
