Innovative primary care delivery in rural Alaska: a review of patient encounters seen by community health aides.

Authors: Golnick C, Asay E, Provost E, Van Liere D, Bosshart C, Rounds-Riley J, Cueva K, Hennessy TW.

For more than 50 years, Community Health Aides and Community Health Practitioners (CHA/Ps) have resided in and provided care for the residents of their villages. This study is a systematic description of the clinical practice of primary care health workers in rural Alaska communities. This is the first evaluation of the scope of health problems seen by these lay health workers in their remote communities. Results showed CHA/Ps provided care for acute, chronic, preventive, and emergency problems. CHA/Ps provide a broad range of primary care in remote Alaskan communities whose residents would otherwise be without consistent medical care. Alaska’s CHA/P program could serve as a health-care delivery model for other remote communities with health care access challenges.