Tapping the power of WhatsApp and text to improve health in Latino communities

Today, 6.7 million Latinas across the country live in states that restrict their reproductive rights.

It’s harder for Latinos to access health care: Latinos are also more than twice as likely to be uninsured as non-Latino whites, and even those with health insurance face barriers of cost and scheduling that make Latino families less likely to get care. 

Planned Parenthood addresses these challenges every day through Latino-focused programmes, like Promotores de Salud —  community health workers who support reproductive health access and sex education in Spanish-speaking communities around the country.

Additionally, Planned Parenthood’s  Spanish-language website, blog, and chat/text with a sex educator service command a total of 52 million visits per year in the U.S.

Together, these services provide medically accurate health information and paths to care at nearly 600 Planned Parenthood health centres nationwide. 

We’re also keeping abreast of innovation in health technology, recognising its potential to expand access to sexual and reproductive health care and information. 

Thankfully, there are community-based organisations and startups building solutions by and for U.S. Latinos, prioritising the needs of patients and designing tools to meet them where they are.

Some organisations are building infrastructures supporting more patient-centered health care, and others are expanding their Spanish-speaking telehealth services to expand access.

Most importantly, these efforts from community members and founders are breaking down barriers to care and putting patients first, with health equity at the centre of it all. 

1. Latina-focused solutions help solve health equity challenges by addressing underlying structural barriers:

After the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, which ended our federal abortion rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) launched a bilingual  “Step-by-step guide to abortion.”

It was viewed 2.1M times in Spanish, compared to 500K in English, showing an outsized need for comprehensive guidance and clarity to navigate the stress around abortion access among Latinos in particular.

In addition, PPFA helped a popular Spanish-language web app grow its capacity to offer emotional support.

Aya Contigo, founded in Venezuela, provides chat-based emotional support and education about medication abortion — using a proven model built by feminist organisations in the global south.

Users can link to Aya Contigo in many ways, one being from plannedparenthood.org, and then talk directly to a compassionate and experienced Spanish educator.

Someone who shares their language and culture can help ease frustrations and affirm their decisions.

Aya Contigo chatters often confront abortion stigma within their families as well as challenges such as the lack of a credit card to pay for care, the inability to travel out of state, and privacy concerns.

The service is designed to provide a virtual accompaniment at every step of getting an abortion, which is especially useful for those who might otherwise be alone or lack access to accurate information.

With the proven success of the Spanish-language service, PPFA launched an English version this past year, which supported 1500 patients, with one in three finding their way to providers. 

It’s just one of many examples of how we focus on the specific health equity barriers of an underserved community offering solutions that benefit everyone.

Some call this the curb-cut effect, which references how disability policies, like making sidewalk curbs wheelchair accessible, have ultimately helped us all (Source).

2. Connect on their terms:

Chat and text health care innovations keep patients informed and engaged, but the relationship-based model of care has deeper cultural roots.

As any child of immigrants knows, the younger generation often schedules appointments or completes an English-language form in the waiting room with a relative — starting at a young age.

Knowing that patients depend on others for advice, navigation, and affirmation, the best innovators give patients access to experts who can provide education or help them navigate the health care system — not to replace, but to extend their care network.

Research shows that 1 in 3 Latina Gen Z’s talk to family members about their care decisions.

Whatsapp is where those conversations happen, with 54 per cent of Hispanic adults using the platform (Pew).

Because anyone with a WiFi connection can use Whatsapp as their primary messaging tool, Aya Contigo was launched in a way that could reach the majority of Latinos, including those new to the country.

We found that 85 per cent of Aya Contigo users preferred communicating on Whatsapp over web-based chat, a platform with which they are already comfortable and where an open communication channel is possible.

Don’t underestimate the power of WhatsApp and text messaging with a human expert to reduce friction and increase access to care and information. 

3. Personalised care can’t always be digital

Some innovators who dominate the conversation on personalised care focus on data collection and tracking to empower users to take charge of their health.

On the one hand, Latinos tend to be super-users of digital health tools like period-tracking apps and wearable health trackers, outpacing their non-Hispanic Black and White counterparts (source).

On the other hand, building a health care system that works for Latino communities requires us to go a step further—moving beyond individual health insights and taking actions that create family and community well-being. 

For example, affordable telehealth solutions can help increase access for Latino communities in areas with provider shortages.

However, personalised care means rapidly connecting that virtual touchpoint with a real person who creates accountability and offers practical support.

The human side of personalised care can mean connecting with a local community health worker or promotora de salud or to services like Medicaid-reimbursable transportation coverage or providers like dieticians, doulas, coaches, and mental health providers who can continue supporting everyday well-being. 

Find out more about PPFA at plannedparenthood.org