Authors: Rachel Benson Gold
For decades, family planning programs and other public health programs have utilized community health workers (CHWs) as a way to reach and serve disadvantaged populations, often immigrants leery of governmentsponsored programs. CHWs—who are generally lay members of the same communities these programs are seeking to serve—provide a variety of functions, including outreach, counseling and education, and patient navigation. Despite decades of experience, however, and a substantial body of evidence documenting their effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, these efforts continue to be hampered by the lack of a dedicated funding stream—a problem now being addressed by individual states and potentially by a little-noticed provision in the federal health care reform legislation that could provide at least some funding nationwide.
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Resource Topic: CHW Role, Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Peer Educators, Reproductive Health/Family Planning
Resource Type: Issue papers, Research
Year: 2010
Region:
Country: United States of America
Publisher May Restrict Access: No