March 2020 was the month that triggered major changes in Contra Costa County due to the COVID pandemic.  County data very clearly demonstrated that this virus was disparately impacting Latino residents was inconsistent or absent.

Snapshots

Summer of 2020: ULV responds to concern about the health impact of COVID-19 on our community and begins to investigate what was being done to support our community. It finds that there is a major gap in Latino outreach and education. Lobbying the County to stratify data by race/ethnicity and by city/zip code so we could better target outreach and education efforts.

December 2020: In December 2020, ULV receives its first grant from the Contra Costa Regional Foundation to provide our Spanish speaking community with outreach and COVID testing sites. Because of the pandemic, we were not able to provide this support face to face, instead, like many other organizations, ULV created curricula addressing Covid issues for “Pláticas” through zoom sessions.

January 2021: “Plática con un Doctor” is offered in partnership with physicians from our Contra Costa Health Department.

June 2021: ULV is awarded a Kaiser Permanente grant to provide Plática con un Doctor education to West County Spanish speaking residents. We partnered with Healthy Richmond (hotlink) and the West Contra Costa Unified School District to implement this zoom education.

Results

January 2021 – January 2022: we provided this education and Plática con un-Doctor in real time, to over seven hundred Latino households. Via a participant survey we conduct at the end of the Plática we collect participant contact and covid information We plan to utilize the data we have collected to forward new information and resources to the households we have touched.

Special thanks to our ULV Project Lead Fadua Galdamez

COVID -19 Zoom Plática curriculum and details:

 

The zoom Plática is an engaging and interactive 1.5-hour conversation with a Spanish speaking physician, co-led with a first-generation immigrant who has experience with community outreach and education. Each Plática includes a Q and A session, games, and raffle to encourage participation.

The curriculum maintains flexibility based on questions and concerns residents bring up at prior Pláticas. Topics include:

  • Education on what is a virus, how virus seek hosts to live, how they replicate.
  • COVID-19 virus variants – why they are occurring and vaccine ability to protect us from these variants.
  • What makes Latinos vulnerable to the virus?
  • Local data to demonstrate impact the disease has had and is having on Latinos.
  • Importance of masks, testing and vaccination for children and adults
  • How vaccines work
  • Common and severe COVID symptoms
  • Where and how to access testing and vaccinations
  • Information on key community resources:
    • Rental assistance
    • Mental health resources
    • Contra Costa 211 information
    • Referral sources

Thank you to the physicians that support this amazing effort 

Guerrero, Nery, MD
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Aguilar, Bianka Janette, MD
Keck School of Medicine

Gonzalez, Elvira “Sofia”, MD
Universidad Autónoma De Guadalajara

Hernandez, Estela , MD