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Resources by Topic: Community health workers

Making Community Health Workers (CHWs) Fundamental: New Research Strengthens the Case for State Policymakers to Include CHWs in Care Delivery Teams
Summarizes key findings from previous Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded studies in 9 states on Community Health Workers (CHWs) interventions and their effect on diverse ethnic, racial, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, including rural. Offers evidence-based recommendations to help state policymakers integrate CHWs into healthcare delivery teams to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of healthcare for individuals and populations.
Author(s): Denisse Sanchez, Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Eliot Fishman
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Community Health Worker Roles and Responsibilities in Rural and Urban America
Results of a study to explore community health worker (CHW) roles and responsibilities, the growing professionalization of the field, and interactions between CHWs and other healthcare providers. Uses data obtained from focus groups conducted in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts. Provides an in-depth look at the differences between CHW work in rural and urban areas, and offers insights to support continued growth of the field.
Author(s): Timothy H. Callaghan, David J. Washburn, Cason D. Schmit, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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Advancing Health Equity Through Community Health Workers and Peer Providers: Mounting Evidence and Policy Recommendations
Reviews the results from 9 studies funded by the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute supporting the inclusion of community health workers (CHWs) and peer providers (PPs) as effective participants in addressing health and healthcare inequities, particularly for diverse communities. Each study presented focuses on a distinct function of utilizing CHWs and/or PPS such as mentoring, managing chronic conditions, and navigator support for serious mental illness and depression. Discusses why payers and providers should include CHWs and PPS in a variety of capacities to improve outcomes, add value to care, and control costs.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Families USA
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Cost-effectiveness of a Statewide Public Health Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk
Highlights a study on the cost effectiveness of a community health worker (CHW)-based public health intervention to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in rural areas. Highlights an intervention that uses software to calculate risk scores and assist CHWs in making referrals and give support.
Author(s): Lauren Smith, Adam Atherly, Jon Campbell, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health, 19, 1234
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
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Promising Practice: Educational Partnership Reaches Rural California Communities
Details a promising practice that works to expand health literacy among rural Latinos in California through a partnership between the California State Office of Rural Health and the California Department of Public Health's Office of Binational Border Health. Details the way the program is reaching rural Latinos through community health worker/promotores training.
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Physical Activity Change after a Promotora-Led Intervention in Low-Income Mexican American Women Residing in South Texas
Examines the physical activity preferences and changes after a community health worker (CHW) led intervention to decrease sedentary time in 620 Mexican American women from mostly rural colonias settlements in Hidalgo County, South Texas on the U.S.-Mexico border. The Community Health Activities Model Program for Seniors Physical Activity (CHAMPS) instrument was used to predict an increase in moderate to vigorous physical activity.
Author(s): Jennifer J. Salinas, Deborah Parra-Medina
Citation: BMC Public Health. 2019,(19), 782.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
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Community-Clinical Linkages Within Health Care in Hawai'i
Special issue of the Hawaii Journal of Medicine and Public Health focusing on collaborations between the community and healthcare facilities to improve health in Hawaii. Covers community health workers, health systems-based programs, community health-center based programs, and provider-based programs. Addresses rural throughout.
Citation: Hawai'i Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 78(6 Suppl 1)
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
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Kentucky Community Fights Back against Cardiovascular Disease
Results of a study conducted in Appalachian Kentucky, exploring a program in which community health workers helped promote healthy eating, physical activity, stress reduction, and other activities to manage risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Date: 06/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Protocol for Links (Linking Individual Needs to Community and Clinical Services): A Prospective Matched Observational Study of a Community Health Worker Community Clinical Linkage Intervention on the U.S.-Mexico Border
Describes Linking Individual Needs to Community and Clinical Services (LINKS), a 3-year observational tool developed to examine the impact of CHW-led interventions using electronic health records and other applications to reduce chronic disease risk and promote well-being among Latinos residing in the U.S. Mexico border region of Arizona.
Author(s): Abby M. Lohr, Maia Ingram, Scott C. Carvajal, Kevin Doubleday, Benjamin Aceves, et al.
Citation: BMC Public Health,19, 399
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
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Una Mano Amiga: Pilot Test of a Patient Navigator Program for Southwest New Mexico
Reports on a pilot study of utilizing bilingual promotoras as patient navigators to help cancer patients and their families in 3 rural counties of southwest New Mexico navigate the healthcare system from cancer diagnosis to treatment.
Author(s): Hugo Vilchis, Lynn E. Onstad, Rachel Benavidez, et al.
Citation: Journal of Cancer Education, 34(1), 173-179
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
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