With support from the Alzheimer’s Association, The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) will conduct a two-phase pilot project that involves the development and testing of an interactive and comprehensive tool kit, which builds upon the Alzheimer’s Association Maintain Your Brain campaign. The tool kit, designed specifically for use by promotores de salud working with NCLR-affiliated community-based organizations, will be used for training purposes and will contain a training module, support materials, and an evaluation component.

It will be incorporated into NCLR’s already established promotores de salud program, which builds on the knowledge base and capacity of the promotores who in turn educate and train individuals in their communities. The content will focus on informing Hispanics about Alzheimer’s disease and how to advocate for themselves on Alzheimer’s and related issues. The project will be carried out in El Paso, Texas and Miami, Florida.

Promotores de salud in El Paso and Miami will focus on reaching “baby boomer” Latinos and Latinas with a family-oriented and focused educational strategy. The promotores de salud, or lay health educators, are identified by the NCLR affiliate in each city. The affiliate will serve as the main center where the project activity takes place. Each affiliate will coordinate efforts in their respective cities and build a network with neighboring community-based organizations in order to expand the knowledge base and materials essential to making the project fruitful. As part of this process, the affiliates will engage the local Alzheimer’s Association office as a local partner.