Environmental Scan of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Pennsylvania

The Alliance of PA Councils (Alliance) was engaged by the Pennsylvania (PA) Department of Health, Bureau of Health Promotion and Risk Reduction – Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, to assess the current CHW environment in the state. Members of the Alliance include Adagio Health in Pittsburgh, Family Health Council of Central PA in Camp Hill, Family Planning Council in Philadelphia, and Maternal and Family Health Services in Wilkes Barre. Phase I of the environmental scan included an extensive review of the CHW literature and development of the survey methodologies and procedures implemented in phase 2. The survey instrument included the following seven domains: types of organizations engaging CHWs; use of paid vs. volunteer CHWs; target populations for CHW efforts; CHW roles and functions; CHW funding; CHW educational requirements and training programs; and policy/systems changes needed to support CHW sustainability