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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Community health workers

Meeting the Demand for Health: Final Report of the California Future Health Workforce Commission
Provides actionable recommendations for developing California's health workforce, addressing rural throughout. Discusses the state's population health, current health workforce challenges, healthcare delivery transformation, and more. The commission was convened by major health philanthropies to develop a comprehensive California health workforce strategy and was composed of state leaders in health, policy, education, and workforce development.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 02/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: California Future Health Workforce Commission
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Evaluating Home-Based Health Coaching from Community Health Representatives for Navajo Adults with Type 2 Diabetes
Reports on the Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) program that utilizes community health representatives (CHRs) in the home setting to assist Navajo adults with diabetes management. Discusses CHRs' community-wide health promotion strategies and individualized in-home patient care. Includes results of the program on participant health.
Author(s): Sonya S. Shin, A. Katrina Nelson, Letizia Trevisi, et al.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Impact of Community Health Representative-Led Patient Activation and Engagement on Home-Based Kidney Care
Describes a study examining the effectiveness of a home-based education program for Zuni adults with kidney disease in rural New Mexico. Compares patients' knowledge, skills, and confidence to manage their kidney disease; quality of life; and clinical risk factors to patients who received care at local Zuni Indian Health Services clinics. Explores the role of community health representatives as part of the clinical care team.
Additional links: Results Summary
Author(s): Vallabh Shah, Robert Nelson, Thomas Faber, Val Panteah
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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The Relationship Between Rural Setting and Health: Factors that Influence Individuals With or at Risk of CVD - A Summary of the Literature
Describes current literature on rural challenges and opportunities, including cardiovascular risk due to obesity, lack of access to healthcare, workforce shortages, importance of paramedics and community health workers, telehealth and broadband, and impact of the substance use disorder epidemic. Intended to help stakeholders understand the causes of health disparities and to support action to improve the health of rural communities.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Heart Association
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Williamson Health and Wellness Center (WHWC): Community Health Worker Care Coordination Program, West Virginia
Brief overview of a care coordination program using a team of community health workers, a registered nurse, and a nurse practitioner. Discusses the program's sustainability efforts, as well as key takeaways about the program. The program was funded under the Rural Health Care Coordination Network Partnership Grant Program from 2015-2018 and received additional philanthropic funding through a public-private partnership.
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Office of Rural Health Policy
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Salud es Vida: A Cervical Cancer Screening Intervention for Rural Latina Immigrant Women
Investigates the feasibility and effectiveness of Salud Es Vida, an educational group session led by promotoras focused on cervical cancer screening and increased cervical cancer knowledge among immigrant Hispanic/Latina women from farmworker environments. The intervention was conducted in four rural counties of Southeast Georgia and included the development of a toolkit offering a curriculum guide and class activities created in partnership with promotoras.
Author(s): John S. Luque, Yelena N. Tarasenko, Claudia Reyes-Garcia, et al.
Citation: Journal of Cancer Education, 32(4), 690-699
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Behavioral and Subjective Health Changes in US and Mexico Border Residing Participants in Two Promotora-Led Chronic Disease Prevention Interventions
Study of two community health worker (CHW) chronic disease prevention programs serving Mexico-born residents of the U.S-Mexico border region: one in a rural Arizona community and one in an urban community in Sonora, Mexico. Discusses challenges related to healthy diet, physical activity, and social support as risk factors for obesity and diabetes. Analyzes data from self-report assessments to evaluate behavioral and subjective health improvements over 6 months of the intervention programs.
Author(s): S C Carvajal, S Huang, M L Bell, et al.
Citation: Health Education Research, 33(6), 522-534
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Depression in a Depressed Area: Deservingness, Mental Illness, and Treatment in the Contemporary Rural U.S.
Examines the concepts of health-related deservingness and local moral economics to understand the diversity of moral responses to depression for rural women living in Appalachian Kentucky, where economic distress has contributed to poor mental health. Women from a variety of ages, treatment encounters, work experiences, and family sizes, along with healthcare professionals from a variety of backgrounds and settings, participated in semi-structured interviews and focus groups.
Author(s): Claire Snell-Rood, Elizabeth Carpenter-Song
Citation: Social Science & Medicine, 219: 78-86
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
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Culturally-Relevant Online Cancer Education Modules Empower Alaska's Community Health Aides/Practitioners to Disseminate Cancer Information and Reduce Cancer Risk
Discusses a study based on post-training surveys from online learning modules providing cancer education for Community Health Aide/Practitioners (CHA/Ps) serving rural Native Alaskan communities. Details CHA/Ps perceptions of the training and how they plan to apply it in their practice.
Author(s): Katie Cueva, Laura Revels, Melany Cueva, et al.
Citation: Journal of Cancer Education, 33(5), 1102-1109
Date: 10/2018
Type: Document
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The Role of Social Support and the Neighborhood Environment on Physical Activity in Low-income, Mexican-American Women in South Texas
Presents a study on the effectiveness of a promotora-led intervention aimed at improving the rates of physical activity among low-income Mexican-American women in rural South Texas.
Author(s): Jennifer J. Salinas, Marisol McDaniel, Deborah Parra-Medina
Citation: Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, 51(5), 234-241
Date: 09/2018
Type: Document
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