Moreno is a community advocate with experience working to improve access to public health for low-income immigrant communities.
“I think what intrigued me is that it was offered in Spanish and that is something that is very much needed,” Moreno said.
Moreno spoke about the introductory forum for the Health Equity Contacts Follow-up Workshop. She is one of the apprentices.
UC Irvine partnered with the Orange County Health Care Agency and local nonprofits to train contact trackers in areas where COVID-19 has spread the most.
According to OCHCA totals, as of July 23, Anaheim had 1,857 cases of the virus 100,000 people, Santa Ana had 1,588. These are the cities with the most cases in the county. Overall, OC had 1,054 cases per 100,000 people.
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A look at race and ethnicity showed that Latinos were the group most affected by the virus, with 42% of cases but only 35% of the population. For comparison, whites represent 27% of cases and almost 39% of the population.
Moreno said that after years advocating for better public health in these communities, this did not surprise her.
“In Santa Ana and Anaheim, in these city centers, we have these great inequalities of problems not only with health at the moment, but it really manifests itself with these other problems,” Moreno said, adding that “most of the Essential workers live in these cities. They do not have the privilege of staying home. They need to go out. They must make a decision: “Do I have to go to work or do I stay at home?”
Organizers said the 20-hour training would be online. OCHCA staff, ICU students, and community members will play roles, learn the basics of epidemiology, and explore approaches to health equity.
“You don’t have to have a medical history to learn what’s going on and do outreach, education with your neighbors and in your neighborhood,” Moreno said.
The public health advocate said empowering a community by making its members a part of the solution was a step in the right direction, but said she hopes to see a change in focus by policy makers in the future. from putting out fires to preventive measures.
“It is unfortunate to see that in our region, health officials here have taken so long to respond to that and really take it seriously,” Moreno said. “And sometimes it is unfortunate to see that the areas that are not being affected as highly by the pandemic, not to see them take the recommendations to wear a mask, but when you live nearby or work in these communities of color and you see it so alive and immediate the effects of the pandemic and you even see people go through it, it’s not a joke.
“It is not a hoax. It is real.”
Moreno said that during the forum, only 18 percent of more than 300 participants were members of the community. I was hoping to see that number grow.
The four-week training is scheduled to begin on July 27.
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