The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on Latino immigrants, including day laborers. In Texas, addressing COVID-19 became increasingly urgent due to the dramatic rise in cases in July 2020. At the time of the initial project application, the state had exceeded its base ICU bed capacity, and 65% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were Latino patients. In Harris County, the site of the study, Latinos represented the ethnic group with the highest COVID-19 positivity rate (30%) and resided in the top 10 zip codes with the highest infection rates.

Latino day laborers (LDL) were immigrant men from Mexico and Central America who worked primarily in the construction and service sectors. They were routinely exposed to multiple personal and job-related stressors in a work context that was dangerous, temporary, poorly paid, and exploitative. During the pandemic, these stressors became more acute, compelling LDL to continue seeking work daily, living in crowded conditions to afford rent, and working without necessary protections for maintaining social distancing or securing personal protective equipment (PPE). COVID-19 severely impacted LDL unless action was 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), which was successfully tested among LDL, the Vale+Tu Salud (Your Health is Worth More) study adapted its evidence-based participant recruitment, engagement, and intervention strategies to promote group problem-solving and a plan to implement COVID-19 mitigation strategies together. Guided by a Community Advisory Board (CAB) and led by LDL promotores, the corner-based program was tested in a randomized trial to determine whether an adapted Latino day laborer program could increase adherence to mitigation practices that reduced the risk of COVID-19.