Title

3.3 Breaking the language barrier: Promoting community health through community-campus partnerships (Sub-panel)

Authors

Laura Martin, University of Mississippi
Jikiah Bryant, University of Mississippi
Noa Valcarcel, University of Mississippi
Karen Allison, MississippiCare
Danna Johnson, Catholic Charities

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

4-1-2022

Abstract

The rural South is home to many “new destination communities” for Spanish-speaking immigrants (SEC Spanish Consortium, 2021). Language barriers can limit access to health care in these communities, which is of particular concern during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Colleges and universities can play a role in addressing these challenges by bringing together mission-aligned organizations through community engagement. This proposed presentation will highlight one such collaboration that was facilitated through the M Partner initiative at the University of Mississippi.

M Partner is a community engagement initiative that connects university resources with priority projects in partner communities. Current partner communities are Ecru and Pontotoc, both located less than one hour from campus in Pontotoc County, Mississippi. In 2021, the percentage of Pontotoc County residents who identified as Hispanic/Latino was 7.3%, more than double the statewide figure of 3.4% of Mississippians who identify as Hispanic/Latino (U.S. Census, 2021).

Through her involvement with M Partner and facilitating community engagement roundtables around health disparities, an undergraduate student majoring in Public Health learned that language barriers were preventing the Spanish-speaking community from accessing primary and preventive care in the Pontotoc area. This student then connected M Partner with MississippiCare, a federally qualified health center serving Pontotoc County. This team quickly engaged a professor of BioMolecular Sciences who had piloted a bilingual health fair in Oxford, as well as a longstanding community partner with Catholic Charities.

This team then engaged collaborators on campus and in the community to offer a free bilingual health fair in July 2021 that provided health screenings, COVID vaccines, referrals to dental and mental health providers, and legal services. Over 250 people attended this event. The presentation will share lessons learned from the needs assessment and planning processes, as well as plans for the growth and sustainability of the partnership.

References:
SEC Spanish Consortium (2021). U.S. Census Bureau (2021). Quick Facts: Mississippi U.S. Census Bureau (2021). QuickFacts: Pontotoc County, Mississippi

Panelists:

• Laura Martin, McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi
• Jilkiah Bryant, McLean Institute for Public Service and Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi
• Noa Valcarcel, Department of BioMolecular Sciences at the University of Mississippi
• Karen Allison, Community Development Coordinator, MississippiCare
• Danna Johnson, Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry, Catholic Charities

Relational Format

Conference Proceeding

Comments

Additional documents include: presentation slides, transcript, SRT file, health log, health fair publicity materials

During her segment, Noa Valcarcel references the undergraduate honors thesis of Caroline Kreh.

Recommended Citation

Martin, Laura; Bryant, Jikiah; Valcarcel, Noa; Allison, Karen; and Johnson, Danna, "3.3 Breaking the language barrier: Promoting community health through community-campus partnerships (Sub-panel)" (2022). SEC Spanish at SECOL 89 (2022). 9.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/secol_89/9

Accessibility Status

Audio or Video Captioning, Searchable text