This editorial uses a previous study as part of an ongoing discussion of how best to bring CHWs into systems of care under complex financial structures to meet the vital health needs of the most vulnerable US populations.
We have a new era of increasing acceptance of the role of community health workers (CHWs) as part of the solution to reducing health disparities, bringing attention to health equity conversations with the triple aim approach. CHWs as a workforce can be an integral component of solutions that seek to improve the health of the population, enhance the patient experience of care, and reduce or at least control the per capita cost of care. Campbell et al. provide compelling empirical data that support the notion, as described by Rush, that a new normal of acceptance of CHWs in systems of care should be the current “state of affairs” and that data on return on investment (ROI) should be viewed as one of several key elements prompting increased employment of CHWs within health systems. In this editorial, we use the study by Campbell et al. as part of an ongoing discussion of how best to bring CHWs into systems of care under complex financial structures to meet the vital health needs of the most vulnerable US populations.
