The Promotora Community Health Manual: Developing a Community-Based Diabetes Self-Management Program provides a conceptual framework for designing or refining a program of community support for diabetes self-management. This guide, developed by promotores, or community health workers, from Campesions Sin Fronteras with assistance from the Arizona Prevention Research Center, is designed for community health workers, but is also a useful tool for supervisors and program managers in both community-based and clinical settings. The overall objectives of the manual are: 1) to provide a general orientation to the philosophy and preparation of promotores/as or community health workers; 2) to explore aspects of diabetes self-management that may not be addressed in clinical care such as managing stress and depression, the inclusion of the family in promoting self-management, and the role of spirituality in caring for diabetes; 3) to provide promotores/as and programs with practical strategies, tools, and suggestions that will assist them in working effectively with their community; and 4) to consider programmatic aspects of a clinical versus a grassroots program for a promotor/a diabetes self-management program.
