Current efforts to better integrate Community Health Workers (CHWs) into the health and social service systems are promising, but may be less effective if they fail to support the role of CHWs as social change agents. The way CHWs are trained influences the roles they play. In this article, we review the literature on CHW training and summarize lessons learned to date. We … [Read more...] about Preparing Community Health Workers for Their Role as Agents of Social Change: Experience of the Community Capacitation Center
United States of America
Community Health Worker Opportunities and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
This short article demonstrates potential opportunities for community health workers under the new Affordable Care Act. The role of CHWs has more recently become legitimized as their value to improving the efficacy of care is increasingly recognized. The Maricopa County Department of Public Health discusses the potential roles of CHWs and funding opportunities to promote … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker Opportunities and the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
Community Health Workers: A Review of Program Evolution, Evidence on Effectiveness and Value, and Status of Workforce Development in New England
The goal of this initiative is to provide a forum in which all these different strands of evidence, information, and public and private values can be discussed together, in a public and transparent process. The mission of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council (CEPAC) is to provide objective, independent guidance on how information on comparative … [Read more...] about Community Health Workers: A Review of Program Evolution, Evidence on Effectiveness and Value, and Status of Workforce Development in New England
Building a National Research Agenda for the Community Health Worker Field
This document summarizes the results of a unique and rich dialogue during a two-day conference, in which for the first time a diverse group of individuals including CHWs, researchers and other stakeholders produced and prioritized a set of research questions about CHWs. That set of questions is the true heart of a potential research agenda. … [Read more...] about Building a National Research Agenda for the Community Health Worker Field
Community health workers “101” for primary care providers and other stakeholders in health care systems.
Today's ambulatory care providers face numerous challenges as they try to practice efficient, patient-centered medicine. This article explains how community health workers (CHWs) can be engaged to address many patient- and system-related barriers currently experienced in ambulatory care practices. Community health workers are frontline public health workers who serve as a … [Read more...] about Community health workers “101” for primary care providers and other stakeholders in health care systems.

