1602-11937

California: Support to Vision y Compromiso (VyC) to act as a lead convener in select regions spanning California as part of the Grassroots Engagement Strategy. VyC’s Network of Promotoras and Community Health Workers (the Network) represents over 4,000 promotores in 12 regions of California. Vision y Compromiso's (VyC) Network promotes leadership, support and capacity building to prepare promotores to bring their communities' voices to the table and participate actively in creating long-term public policy and systems changes that engage and transform communities and improve the population’s health. During the Year One, Learn/Assess/Plan Phase, Vision y Compromiso (VyC) accomplished the following: 1) Key Informant Interviews where promotoras discussed myths and misinformation, attitudes, barriers to care, trusted messengers and strategies to change behaviors. 2) Survey of Promotores: VyC piloted and finalized a brief survey for promotores about their oral health practices and training, where 380 promotores from across California completed the survey. 3) Focus Groups: VyC conducted 3 focus groups on oral health with 32 experienced promotoras (94% women; 6% men) in Los Angeles, (34%) Imperial (37%) and Kern (28%) Counties (an urban, rural and border region). 4) Spread of Information and Awareness: VyC partnered with Center for Oral Health to present a workshop series about OH at VyC’s 13th annual conference for promotoras and community health workers in Ontario, CA in December 2015. 5) Alliance Building: Enhanced longstanding relationship with LA Trust, Oral Health Action California (OHAC), and the Inland Empire Oral Health Action Coalition. Also begun to partner with statewide agencies such as The Children's Partnership and those dedicated to social justice and health equity such as SCOPE, CPEHN, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, among others. Oral Health 2020 investment of $100,000 will be used to 1) Build the capacity of the Network to engage promotores in efforts to change public perception about oral health and bring the public more broadly into the oral health movement through these efforts, 2) Disseminate information about OH to promotores and key partners through Oral Health Community Forums in Network regions, allowing input into the oral health priorities plan, 3) Identify and engage allies, policymakers and other stakeholders that will be crucial for the implementation of the oral health priorities plan, and 4) Combine the efforts in goals 1-3 as VyC begins to identify possible advocacy/priorities activities for year three. This investment aligns with the Oral Health 2020 goal to improve the public perception of the value of oral health to overall health.