Cultivating Equitable Systems: (Re)Positioning Bilingual Latina/o/x Health Navigators and (Re)Imagining Health Navigator Programs

• In Event: Created Empowered Educational Spaces for Families and Communities

Abstract

Latinx families across the state of Oregon have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. This outcome is largely a consequence of systemic racism, as anti-immigrant rhetoric and discriminatory policies have created barriers to health and other social services among Latinx families. The multi-faceted pandemic has underscored the need for bilingual Latina/o/x health navigators. Unfortunately, bilingual Latina/o/x health navigators are largely susceptible to burnout (McClurg, 2020). This qualitative study draws from the framework of positioning theory (Davies & Harré, 1990) to consider how Latina/o/x bilingual health navigators were (re)positioned during the multi-faceted pandemic and how health navigator programs might (re)imagine their approaches to support racialized health navigators and the minoritized families they serve.

Authors

• Soria Elizabeth Colomer, Oregon State University

• Guadalupe Diaz, Sobrato Early Academic Language

• Daniel Lopez-Cevallos, Oregon State University

• Tina Dodge Vera, Oregon State University