Teaching how, not what: the contributions of community health workers to diabetes self-management.

Authors: Davis KL, O'Toole ML, Brownson CA, Llanos P, Fisher EB.

The purpose of this study is to describe ways in which community health workers (CHWs) are used in various clinic and community settings to support diabetes self-management (DSM). The assistance CHWs reported providing was most often in form of encouragement/motivation. During interviews, patients shared that CHWs were helpful in demonstrating how to incorporate DSM into their daily lives. Also, interviews with patients revealed that a personal connection along with availability and provision of key resources and supports for self-management made the CHW-patient interaction successful for DSM. This insight should encourage guidelines that make CHWs a routine, standard part of the diabetes care team.