Racial and ethnic disparities remain a public health problem and are largely due to social determinants of health (SDOH). Using an adapted 36-hour community health worker (CHW) curriculum, we trained 42 lay community residents in New Orleans, Louisiana, neighborhoods experiencing disparities in leadership and advocacy skills to address SDOH. Six months posttraining, 29 participants completed a follow-up survey and interview. Participants described increases in knowledge, self-efficacy, and activities related to leadership and advocacy at all levels of the social ecological model. We also found a significant increase in communicating with Louisiana state senators or representatives (
Keywords: advocacy; health disparities; leadership; social determinants of health; training.