1. Sharkey Presentation
Perspectives from CHWs as researchers in a nutrition participatory observation project in South Texas colonias
Julie St. John, MA, MPH
Joseph R. Sharkey, PhD
Barbara F. Sharf, PhD
Thelma Aguillon, CHW

2. Sharkey Presentation
Hidalgo County, TX

3. Socio-demographics Hidalgo County: Population: 655,202 90% Hispanic
13.4% unemployment rate
36% below FPL
50% high school graduate or higher
83% speak a language other than English at home
60% uninsured
> 20% live in colonias
In Hidalgo County, 88% are Hispanic; 36% live below 100% FPL; 60% are uninsured; 13.4% are unemployed; 50% have a high school diploma or higher; and the per capita income is less than half the state and national averages ($13,344 a year).

4. Colonias
Definition of Colonias: unregulated residential areas lacking basic services (water, electricity, roads, etc.) and infrastructure
Colonias are recently formed neighborhoods. Often they are ½ acre plots with low financing—former farm land, etc. Residents will often start out with trailer homes or RVs, or small shacks made of plywood and particle board. They often lack basic services such as water, electricity, roads, mail system, etc. For example, One neighbor might have electricity and they connect to other homes with extension cords. Often they will have one water facet outside the home as their only source of water supply. For cooking, they often cook outside or have propane tanks. If they have a stove, they are gas powered.

5. Colonias Low-income housing areas Key characteristics:
Sharkey Presentation
Colonias
Low-income housing areas
Key characteristics:
Low cost (minimal down & minimal monthly payments)
Self-built dwellings
Physical conditions improve over time
Low-density settlements (ETJ)

6. Colonias Mixture of housing types Substandard “neighborhoods”
Sharkey Presentation
Colonias
Substandard “neighborhoods”
Lack basic services
Inadequate infrastructure (roads/drainage/electricity/water)
Mixture of housing types
Recycled materials
Trailers
Self-built

7. Houses in a San Carlos colonia Canal in back of house shown above
Colonias
Houses in a San Carlos colonia
Canal in back of house shown above

8. Colonia Resident Characteristics
Sharkey Presentation
Colonia Resident Characteristics
High rates of diabetes and obesity
Persistent poverty
Sub-standard housing
Low educational levels
High unemployment rates

9. Participatory Observation Project (POP)
Sharkey Presentation
Purpose:
Test a complex form of participant observations focusing on actual food-related behaviors of family members as observed by researchers in the families’ colonia homes
Underlying goal:
Demonstrate the effectiveness of using CHWs to conduct research in a community setting.

10. Sharkey Presentation
POP Teams
Bilingual
Promotora (community health worker) & formally trained researcher
Team members involved in developing protocol
Trained in ethnographic methodologies

11. Training Developed home observation guide
Ethnography workshops on conducting participant observations and writing detailed field notes

12. Promotora Role Shift Traditional & Emerging roles/competencies:
Health promotion
Education
Outreach
community organizing
Facilitation
Problem solving/solution finding
Program planning/implementation
POP role:
Conduct research

13. POP Eight different families for one weekend day and two half-days
Families recruited by promotoras from two clusters of colonias
Eight different families for one weekend day and two half-days
Document feasibility of PO in colonia households

14. Gift Baskets

15. Home Observations

16. Debrief Identified issues: Dietary decision-making patterns
Cultural practices within the geographic & cultural setting of the colonias
Meanings ascribed to these patterns by family members.

17. POP Team

18. Contact Information
Center for Community Health Development School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M Health Science Center 2101 South McColl Rd. McAllen, Texas (956) ,
Acknowledgement: The Center for Community Health Development participated in this pilot project as part of the Integrated Health Outreach Systems Project (Project # ) funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Center for Community Health Development is a member of the Prevention Research Centers Program, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement number 5U48 DP