VALE+TU SALUD: Corner-Based Randomized Trial to Test a Latino Day Laborer Program Adapted to
Prevent COVID 19
The ongoing COVID 19 pandemic is having a devastating impact on Latino immigrants, whose members
include day laborers. In Texas, addressing COVID-19 is increasingly urgent given the dramatic rise in cases
during July 2020. At the time of this application, the state has exceeded its base ICU beds capacity and 65% of
COVID-19 hospitalizations are Latino patients. And in Harris county, the site of this proposed study, Latinos
represent the ethnic group with the highest COVID 19 positivity rate (30%) and live in the top 10 zip codes with
the highest infection rates. Latino day laborers (LDL) are immigrant men from Mexico and Central America who
work primarily in the construction and service sectors and are routinely exposed to multiple personal and job-
related stressors, where the later occur in a working context that is dangerous, temporary, poorly paid, and
exploitive. During the current pandemic these stressors have become more acute and have compeled LDL to
continue to seek work daily, live in crowded conditions to afford the rent, and work without needed protections
for maintaining social distancing or securing personal protective equipment (PPE). COVID 19 is likely to
severely impact LDL unless action is taken to address their stressors and support their efforts to prevent it.
Based on a readily available and portable injury risk-reduction program Vales+Tu (You Are Worth More) that
has been successfully tested among LDL, the Vale+Tu Salud (Your Health is Worth More) study will adapt its
evidence-based participant recruitment, engagement, and intervention strategies to promote group problem
solving and a plan to implement together COVID 19 mitigation strategies. Guided by a Community Advisory
Board (CAB) and led by LDL promotores, this corner-based program will be tested in a randomized trial to
answer this question: Can an adapted Latino day laborer program increase adherence to mitigation practices
that reduce the risk of COVID 19? To answer this question, we will pursue these aims: AIM1: Determine the
cultural, socioeconomic, interpersonal and work-related factors that influence COVID 19 mitigation practices
including social distancing, hand-washing and PPE use. AIM 2: Adapt, implement, and test Vale+Tu Salud in a
cluster randomized trial to assess the extent to which LDL report increased adherence with COVID 19
mitigation practices 1 month post intervention. AIM 3: Promote Vales+Tu Salud just-in-time results and
increase its capacity to rapidly disseminate findings among groups that serve LDL and other Latino immigrants.
In the short term, we expect our program to address the urgent need to prevent COVID 19 among LDL by
testing its effectiveness in promoting mitigation practices and the COVID 19 vaccine, when it becomes
available. Over the longer term, we expect that the lessons learned in this COVID 19 prevention program will
transfer to other work and life domains where LDL may adopt similar practices to reduce other health risks.
