Familias Sanas (Healthy Families)

A Culturally Grounded Approach to Improve the Interconception Care of Latina Mothers 

Principal Investigators: Flavio F. Marsiglia & Dean Coonrod

Funding: Hispanic Health Services Grant Program/ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, award 1H0CMS03207 (2007-2009)

Familias Sanas (Health Families) was a randomized control trial of an intervention aimed at increasing the utilization of interconception care by lower income Latinas. Specifically, the purposes of this project were to: (1) Develop a culturally grounded intervention to increase the utilization of interconception care by Latina women, called Familias Sanas; (2) Evaluate effectiveness of the intervention on the utilization of interconception care by Latina women; (3) Determine cultural barriers to utilization of interconception care by Latina women. The project recruited 440 Latina pregnant women attending the Women’s Care Clinic at Maricopa Integrated Health Systems. Participants were randomized into control and treatment groups. The control group received care as usual at the Women’s Care Clinic; the treatment group met regularly with Prenatal Partners who helped participants navigate the health care system, encouraged them to advocate and care for themselves, and empower them to put into practice new information and strategies learned from the Familias Sanas intervention.

Bermúdez-Parsai, M., Mullins-Geiger, J., Marsiglia, F. F., & Coonrod, D. (2012). Acculturation and health care utilization among Mexican heritage women in the United States. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 16, 1173-1179.doi: 10.1007/s10995-011-0841-6