Ethical principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR)--specifically, community engagement, mutual learning, action-reflection, and commitment to sustainability--are particularly relevant in cancer disparities research because vulnerable populations are often construed to be powerless, supposedly benefiting from programs over which they have no control. The long … [Read more...] about Community health workers support community-based participatory research ethics: lessons learned along the research-to-practice-to-community continuum.
Chronic conditions
Quality Improvement in Diabetes Care Using Community Health Workers
Community health centers take care of patients who are at high risk for adverse medical outcomes because of poverty, linguistic isolation, poor education, and poor health habits. Because of their population focus, health centers are positioned to implement systems-level changes affecting many patients. This article discusses the quality improvement initiatives at Holyoke … [Read more...] about Quality Improvement in Diabetes Care Using Community Health Workers
Teaching how, not what: the contributions of community health workers to diabetes self-management.
The purpose of this study is to describe ways in which community health workers (CHWs) are used in various clinic and community settings to support diabetes self-management (DSM). The assistance CHWs reported providing was most often in form of encouragement/motivation. During interviews, patients shared that CHWs were helpful in demonstrating how to incorporate DSM into their … [Read more...] about Teaching how, not what: the contributions of community health workers to diabetes self-management.
Comprehensive asthma management for underserved children.
In response to the 'asthma epidemic', local organisations in San Francisco formed the Yes We Can Urban Asthma Partnership, which uses a comprehensive medical/social model for paediatric asthma care. The Yes We Can Urban Asthma Partnership reaches out to high-risk children in different clinical settings: urgent visits, the hospital, a comprehensive specialty asthma clinic, and … [Read more...] about Comprehensive asthma management for underserved children.
Promotoras as Mental Health Practitioners in Primary Care: A Multi-Method Study of an Intervention to Address Contextual Sources of Depression
We assessed the role of promotoras—briefly trained community health workers—in depression care at community health centers. The intervention focused on four contextual sources of depression in underserved, low-income communities: underemployment, inadequate housing, food insecurity, and violence. After a structured training program, primary care practitioners (PCPs) and … [Read more...] about Promotoras as Mental Health Practitioners in Primary Care: A Multi-Method Study of an Intervention to Address Contextual Sources of Depression