Evaluating the Dissemination and Implementation of a Community Health Worker-Based Community Wide Campaign to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Physical Activity among Latinos along the U.S.-Mexico Border

Abstract

This study evaluated the dissemination and implementation of a culturally tailored community-wide campaign (CWC), Tu Salud ¡Si Cuenta! (TSSC), to augment fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption and physical activity (PA) engagement among low-income Latinos of Mexican descent living along the U.S.-Mexico Border in Texas. TSSC used longitudinal community health worker (CHW) home visits as a core vehicle to enact positive change across all socioecological levels to induce behavioral change. TSSC’s reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance (RE-AIM) was examined. A dietary questionnaire and the Godin-Shepherd Exercise Questionnaire measured program effectiveness on mean daily FV consumption and weekly PA engagement, respectively. Participants were classified based on CHW home visits into “low exposure” (2–3 visits) and “high exposure” (4–5 visits) groups. The TSSC program reached low-income Latinos (n = 5686) across twelve locations. TSSC demonstrated effectiveness as, compared to the low exposure group, the high exposure group had a greater FV intake (mean difference = +0.65 FV servings daily, 95% CI: 0.53–0.77) and an increased PA (mean difference = +185.6 MET-minutes weekly, 95% CI: 105.9–265.4) from baseline to the last follow-up on a multivariable linear regression analysis. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that the high exposure group had higher odds of meeting both FV guidelines (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.65–2.47) and PA guidelines (AOR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.10–1.68) at the last follow-up. The program had a 92.3% adoption rate, with 58.3% of adopting communities meeting implementation fidelity, and 91.7% of communities maintaining TSSC. TSSC improved FV consumption and PA engagement behaviors among low-income Latinos region wide. CHW delivery and implementation funding positively influenced reach, effectiveness, adoption, and maintenance, while lack of qualified CHWs negatively impacted fidelity.