Cada Paso del Camino
Community Health Workers connected colonia residents to cancer diagnostic services through a partner clinic.
According to the American Cancer Society, Hispanics are more likely to die from cancer than are non-Hispanic whites. The disparity is especially prevalent in some of our most underserved communities, where access to health care is limited and preventive screenings are rare.
The Cada Paso del Camino (“Each Step of the Way”) program utilized Community Health Workers as a bridge from the Rio Grande Valley’s predominantly Latino and Hispanic neighborhoods – called colonias – to clinical services through our partner health center Nuestra Clinica Del Valle, which provided cancer screening, diagnostic, and treatment services to program participants. If an initial screening was abnormal, that individual was offered affordable diagnostic tests, and if needed, affordable treatment as well.
Our Community Health Workers provided outreach, one-on-one education, referrals, and follow-up appointments, in order build a stronger network of social services to program participants. The unique collaboration between MHP Salud and the health center Nuestra Clinica Del Valle was a landmark initiative to provide comprehensive preventive, diagnostic and treatment services to the underserved and often uninsured residents living in rural Texas colonias.
Cada Paso del Camino began in June 2015 and concluded in May 2018. It was made possible by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
2017 Program Outcomes
