Latino Community Health Workers: Meeting their Community’s Emotional Needs in Intuitively Culturally Appropriate Ways

Authors: Martha Lucia Garcia, Lorena Sprager, Elizur Bello Jiménez

In this qualitative study, researchers aimed to assess the role of community health workers in providing mental health services to Latinos living in Oregon, United States. Authors performed focus groups with 92 CHWs from three communities in Oregon. During focus groups, researchers explored the role of CHWs in meeting the mental health needs of Latino communities and inquired what training and support they would need to be more effective. CHWs expressed the unique mental health challenges that minorities, specifically Latinos, face. Additionally, researchers found that CHWs are often the first ones to offer assistance, and help lessen any feelings of fear or isolation. CHWs also shared the need for training on specific mental health disorders, family dynamics, and counseling skills. Overall, researchers concluded that, with more training and support, CHWs can act as a bridge for community members, specifically Latinos, to access effective mental health services.