This paper comments on the ways that community health workers should be deployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the US. CHWs are members of the communities they serve, making them skilled in community engagement and health communication at a time when social distancing mandates are a possible barrier in connecting vulnerable communities to resources. The authors … [Read more...] about Community health workers and non-clinical patient navigators: A critical COVID-19 pandemic workforce
North America (U.S. and Canada)
Engaging Parents in Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study of Community Health Workers’ Strategies in High Poverty Urban Communities
In the US, the use of CHWs in providing mental health services is growing. This study researched engagement strategies for a school-based mental health service model by employing a CHW workforce to implement early intervention programs in high poverty urban communities. Key findings of the study support the ability of CHWs to identify and implement an array of engagement … [Read more...] about Engaging Parents in Mental Health Services: A Qualitative Study of Community Health Workers’ Strategies in High Poverty Urban Communities
Promoting the Health of the Community: Community Health Workers Describing Their Roles, Competencies, and Practice
Despite their fast paced growth and increasing utilization, there is still a lack of community health worker (CHW) training programs, certification and credentialing by state agencies. CHW views and inputs on their roles are also lacking in policy development and in the literature. This book seeks to fill this gap by publishing CHW-authored reports from the field; it informs … [Read more...] about Promoting the Health of the Community: Community Health Workers Describing Their Roles, Competencies, and Practice
Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Programmes for Community Health Workers: a Gender Analysis Framework
Informal occupational roles with the lowest pay and the least power have been dominated by women. Recent findings from Afghanistan showed that male CHWs were praised for their volunteer work while female CHWs doing similar work were not praised as their efforts were viewed “expected” (Najafizada et al. 2019). COVID-19 has further highlighted the gendered nature of the … [Read more...] about Promoting Gender Responsive Policies and Programmes for Community Health Workers: a Gender Analysis Framework
Can Community Health Workers Increase Palliative Care Use for African American Patients? A Pilot Study
African American patients with cancer underutilize advance care planning (ACP) and palliative care (PC). This feasibility study investigated whether community health workers (CHWs) could improve ACP and PC utilization for African American patients with advanced cancer. It determined that utilization of CHWs to address PC domains and social determinants of health is feasible. … [Read more...] about Can Community Health Workers Increase Palliative Care Use for African American Patients? A Pilot Study