Background:
Latinos in Washington State (WA) are at increased risk for cardiometabolic conditions, including obesity, diabetes and hypertension. They also face multiple barriers to health care including lack of insurance, absence of a usual source of care, language and cultural barriers, low health literacy, and geographic social vulnerability. The recent escalation of anti-immigrant sentiment and threat of mass deportation is likely to further marginalize the estimated 325,000 undocumented immigrants among the 1.1 million Latinos residing in WA.
In response, the Latino Center for Health (LCH) has organized a mobile cardiometabolic health screening, counseling and referral program, building on its experience with providing vaccine pop-ups during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mi Salud pilot program, in partnership with grassroots community-based organizations throughout WA state, offers A1C screening, blood pressure checks, height, weight, and BMI measurements. Based on these metrics, brief individualized counseling is provided on lifestyle factors including nutrition, physical activity, and mental health. For those needing medical care, referrals to local clinics are provided. To complement individualized counselling, healthy living group talks are offered, led by a Promotora de Salud (Community Health Worker) and based on a culturally tailored wellbeing pamphlet developed by the LCH. All services and materials are offered in Spanish and English.
In this policy brief, we report the findings from 7 screening clinics conducted statewide from January through November of 2024.