Promotores de Bienestar: a culturally responsive approach for reducing opioid deaths in New Mexico’s Latino communities

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the development and initial implementation of the Promotores de Bienestar (PDB) (Promoters of Wellbeing) training program, designed to increase outreach to and engage Latinx and other communities negatively affected by the opioid crisis in overdose prevention. This innovative culturally responsive and community-informed program is focused on increasing awareness of the intersections of mental health and substance use disorders, stigma reduction, strengthening-needed support systems, and administration of Narcan, the life-saving opioid reversal medication. The PdB Training Program provides a model for working with a broad range of partners, including community residents, as part of a collaborative program development process.

KEYWORDS:

• Community health workers
• implementation
• Narcan
• overdose
• prevention

Acknowledgment

We are extremely grateful to all of the partners with whom we collaborated on the development of the Promotores de Bienestar program, particularly those individuals who provided input to better address the needs of their communities.