Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community health workers

Access to Oral Health Workforce Report: Part II
Evaluates and discusses patient access to oral healthcare in Pennsylvania. Provides demographic and well-being information, and analysis of variables affecting workforce outcomes and access to care. Features statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural areas.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sean G. Boynes, Helen Hawkey, Kelly A. Braun, et al.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Coalition for Oral Health
view details
State Policies for Expanding Medicaid Coverage of Community Health Worker (CHW) Services
Discusses state Medicaid coverage policies regarding Community Health Workers (CHWs) in place as of July 1, 2022, and planned for fiscal year 2023. Covers CHW coverage initiatives implemented or planned through Medicaid state plan amendments, Section 1115 demonstration authority, and as part of a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) model.
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: KFF
view details
The Health Equity & Access for Rural Dually Eligible Individuals (HEARD) Toolkit: Raising Rural Voices from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to Create Action
Provides an overview on the access barriers and health disparities of Medicaid and Medicare dually eligible individuals residing in rural areas. Presents research and stakeholder feedback from New Mexico, North Dakota, and Tennessee to provide information to policymakers. Discusses topics such as community planning related to equity and infrastructure, workforce capacity and community health workers (CHWs), and social determinants of health.
Author(s): Ellen Breslin, Samantha Di Paola, Susan McGeehan, Rebecca Kellenberg, Andrea Maresca
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health Management Associates
view details
2022 Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment: A Report of the Behavioral Health Workforce Advisory Committee
Details the results of a study analyzing the occupations, roles, size, distribution, career pathways, demand, policy, and practice issues for the behavioral health workforce in the state of Washington. Includes recommendations to address workforce-related barriers and improve access to behavioral healthcare, and provides rural specific information.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
view details
Michigan's Roadmap to Healthy Communities Phase II: 2022-2024
Expands on Phase I of a plan to address the social determinants of health (SDOH) to advance equity, provide social and economic opportunities, and improve health outcomes in Michigan. Focuses on health equity, community information exchange, community health workers (CHWs), chronic disease initiatives, population health, and a partnership with the Michigan Center for Rural Health (MCRH).
Date: 12/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
view details
COVID-19 Stakeholder Experiences in the Commonwealth of Kentucky - 2022
Results of surveys taken from October-December 2021 by 145 Kentucky school leaders, community health workers and their clients, rural community members, and healthcare providers. Includes statistics on satisfaction with telehealth, testing locations and vaccines, barriers faced during stay-at-home orders, and impact of COVID on medical care.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health
view details
The Intersection of Workplace and Environmental Exposure on Health in Latinx Farm Working Communities in Rural Inland Southern California
Analyzes access and barriers to healthcare services for Eastern Coachella Valley rural farmworkers who are exposed to workplace and environmental health risks. Reports on 9 culturally responsive in-home interviews conducted from 2017 to 2018 with the assistance of a bilingual Spanish-Purépecha Latina promotora. Provides demographic information of participants and quotes from interviews related to themes such as environmental exposures, including the nearby Salton Sea; agricultural labor and its impact on health; chronic health conditions and trauma of exposures; and community-proposed solutions.
Author(s): Ann Marie Cheney, Tatiana Barrera, Katheryn Rodriguez, Ana María Jaramillo López
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12940
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
view details
Community Health Worker Intervention Improves Early Childhood Vaccination Rates: Results from a Propensity-Score Matching Evaluation
Examines the effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) home visiting interventions in the Health Start Program (HSP) in Arizona to improve childhood vaccination rates. Utilizes the Arizona State Immunization Information System (ASIIS) database to compare vaccination uptake among children whose mothers participated in the HSP between 2006 and 2016 to a demographically similar cohort. Analyzes vulnerable populations with a history of low vaccination uptake including Hispanic/Latinx, American Indian, children of low socioeconomic status and/or living with parents with less than a high school education, rural border counties, children with teen mothers, and first-born children.
Author(s): Patrick Wightman, Kelly McCue, Samantha Sabo, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 22,1854
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
view details
Exploration of Multilevel Barriers and Strategies That Affected Early COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing in Rural Latino Communities in Southwest Florida
Examines barriers and strategies affecting COVID-19 vaccination and testing uptake in rural Latino communities in southwest Florida. Uses data from interviews conducted between March-April 2021 with 25 key stakeholders including rural Latino community members, local leaders, and community health workers.
Author(s): Acadia W. Buro, Kevin Roman Candelaria, Rocio Bailey, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11785
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
view details
Promotoras de Salud in a Father-Focused Nutrition and Physical Activity Program for Border Communities: Approaches and Lessons Learned from Collaboration
Explores the role community health workers, or promotoras de salud, played in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a father-focused health program for rural Latino communities on the U.S.-Mexico border. Highlights some of the health and wellness issues for children and adults in the poor and underserved colonias along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Author(s): Cassandra M. Johnson, Marlyn A. Allicock, Joseph R. Sharkey, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(18), 11660
Date: 09/2022
Type: Document
view details