Community Health Worker Advancement: A Research Summary

This report summarizes the results of a scan of local and national educational programs and workforce advancement issues concerning community health work. The research was conducted for the Boston-based SkillWorks initiative, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Its purposes were to: clarify the challenges that community health workers face in the labor market; […]

Community Health Worker Professional Advocacy Voices of Action from the 2014 National Community Health Worker Advocacy Survey

Abstract: This mixed-methods study explores community health worker (CHW) engagement in professional advocacy. Data from the National Community Health Worker Advocacy Survey (n =1661) assessed the relationship between CHW professional advocacy and CHW demographics, and work characteristics. Qualitative data articulated the quality of professional advocacy efforts. Approximately, 30% of CHW respondents advocated for professional advancement […]

The Changing Roles of Community Health Workers Health Services Research

Objective. To examine what different types of employers value in hiring community health workers (CHWs) and determine what new competencies CHWs might need to meet workforce demands in the context of an evolving payment landscape and substantial literature suggesting that CHWs are uniquely qualified to address health disparities. Study Design. We used a multimethod approach, […]

Building a Framework for Community Health Worker Skills Proficiency Assessment to Support Ongoing Professional Development

Abstract: Although community health workers (CHWs) continue to gain credibility and recognition in the health care and public health sectors, there is still a need to expand workforce identity and development efforts, including identifying best practices for assessing CHW skill proficiencies. During this qualitative study, we interviewed 32 CHWs, trainers, and supervisors to understand current […]

Benchmarks for Reducing Emergency Department Visits and Hospitalizations Through Community Health Workers Integrated Into Primary Care

Background: Uncertainty about the financial costs and benefits of community health worker (CHW) programs remains a barrier to their adoption. Objectives: To determine how much CHWs would need to reduce emergency department (ED) visits and associated hospitalizations among their assigned patients to be cost-neutral from a payer’s perspective. Research Design: Using a microsimulation of patient […]