Profiles, Perceptions and Motivations of Community Health Workers of NGOs in a Border City of US-Mexico

Authors: Beatriz Alfaro-Trujillo, Ana M. Valles-Medina, Adriana C. Vargas-Ojeda

This study analyzes the profile, perceptions and motivations of Community Health Workers (CHWs) from nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) in the border city of US-Mexico and describes the type of community interventions they perform.
Analysis of focus group discussions lead to the development of four conceptual categories: personal development,
motivation, perception of their community participation and institutional relationship, some of the testimonies are ‘‘…just because the people do not respond does not mean we give up. No, we must work, persist, promote and raise
awareness of the people…’’, ‘‘…when they compensate us, it is not really a payment. We are there because we get results, we do it happily… It is voluntary…’’ CHWs are an important human resource for communities. Institutions focusing on primary care should view these community players as social capital, which could improve the effectiveness of prevention strategies and achieve greater coverage of health services.