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Evaluation of Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA): A Pilot Promotora Intervention Focused on Stress and Coping Among Immigrant Latinas

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Abstract

Recent immigrant Latinas are at increased risk of poor mental health due to stressors associated with adapting to life in the United States. This study evaluated Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma, a promotora intervention to reduce stress and promote health and coping among recent immigrant Latinas. Using a pre- and post-test design, we evaluated mental health outcomes, specifically, in promotoras. Promotoras’ knowledge levels related to role of promotora and stress management increased, depressive symptoms and stress levels decreased, and coping responses and perceived social support increased as well. Results suggest that promotora programs may be an effective way to improve mental health in recent immigrant Latinas.

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Acknowledgments

“ALMA - Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma” or “Latina Friends Motivating the Soul” is an inter-university Duke University-University of North Carolina-GlaxoSmithKline Health Disparities Initiative. It is supported by a grant from the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation of Research Triangle Park, NC. This research was also supported by grants from the National Center for Research Resources, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (UL1RR024128 and UL1RR0257470, and NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Susan Yaggy for her leadership in the initial conceptualization of ALMA and to our Community and Academic Advisory Committees for their continual guidance throughout the development, implementation and evaluation of ALMA. We are also appreciative to Dr. Mike Bowling for lending his expertise during the data analysis phase and to David Andrews, Esther Majani, and Rachel Page for their assistance in data entry and preliminary analyses. Finally, we extend our most sincere thanks to all of the ALMA participants for their time, energy and dedication. We are humbled by their commitment to better their own health and that of other women in their community.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Community Health, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Box 104425, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Anh N. Tran, Georgina Perez & Michelle Lyn

  2. Department of Health Services, The University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    India J. Ornelas

  3. Sheps Center for Health Services Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Melissa A. Green

  4. Department of Social Medicine and Department of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Giselle Corbie-Smith

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  1. Anh N. Tran
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  2. India J. Ornelas
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  3. Georgina Perez
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  4. Melissa A. Green
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  5. Michelle Lyn
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  6. Giselle Corbie-Smith
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Correspondence to Anh N. Tran.

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Tran, A.N., Ornelas, I.J., Perez, G. et al. Evaluation of Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma (ALMA): A Pilot Promotora Intervention Focused on Stress and Coping Among Immigrant Latinas. J Immigrant Minority Health 16, 280–289 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-012-9735-y

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