Community Health Workers Can Be a Public Health Force for Change in the United States: Three Actions for a New Paradigm

An article from the American Journal of Public Health. Attempts to further the vision of public health as a benefit to the community by encouraging three actions: (1) promote awareness and appreciation of the uniqueness of CHW and support their roles in bringing community perspectives and priorities into the process of improving health care systems, (2) promote the integration of CHW in the full range of health care delivery and population health programs, and (3) implement a national agenda for CHW evaluation research and develop comprehensive policies to enhance the sustainability of the CHW workforce, with CHW leadership in guiding policy recommendations.

Bringing Community Health Workers into the Mainstream of U.S. Health Care

A discussion paper published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies. Provides a general overview of the value of integrating CHW into team-based primary care. Topics include: using CHW to enhance team-based care, obstacles to using CHW, and recommendations for implementing CHW in the future.

Best Practice Guidelines for Implementing and Evaluating Community Health Worker Programs in Health Care Settings

A report published by Sinai Urban Health Institute. Summarizes CHW professional literature and national and local surveys, successes, lessons learned, and case studies from the field. Aims to address the gaps in knowledge about how to effectively implement the CHW model. Targets health care organizations interested in implementing the CHW model in their system or improving upon their current system. Intended to offer guidance in decision-making and solutions to common program implementation challenges. Topics include: approaches to CHW hiring, training, and performance evaluation; supervision challenges and strategies for success; providing a positive organizational climate to facilitate CHW integration; other effective elements of program design; and program evaluation, including standardized CHW process and outcome measures.

Best Practices for Integrating Peer Navigators into HIV Models of Care

A report by AIDS United. Presents lessons learned from three AIDS United peer navigation program initiatives: Positive Charge (2010-2014), Retention in Care (2012-2016), and the Access to Care Social Innovation Fund Initiative (2010-2015). Offers ways to successfully and efficiently integrate peer navigators to reach vulnerable HIV populations in America. Topics include: initial steps to begin/expand a peer navigation program (identify target populations, best practices checklist, protocols and procedures), strategies to implement and monitor the program (communication, training, documentation), and ways to address the sustainability of the program.

Community Health Workers Evidence-Based Models Toolbox

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Human Resources and Services Administration, Office of Rural Health Policy. A guide for rural communities of CHW models and strategies that have been proven to work. Topics include: overview of the role of CHW; description of various CHW program models; CHW training approaches; implementation, sustainability, and evaluation of CHW programs; dissemination of CHW resources; and examples of rural CHW programs.

Promotores and the Chronic Care Model: An Organizational Assessment

An article from the Journal of Community Health Nursing. Provides an organizational assessment and analysis of the role of promotores (lay health workers) could offer to a system of federally-sponsored community health clinics along the U.S./Mexico border in which the Chronic Care Model (which delivers improved care for the chronically ill) is being used. Goal of a collaboration between promotores and the CCM would be to address cultural barriers to chronic illness care encountered by minority populations.

The Use of Peer Workers in Special Projects of National Significance Initiatives, 1993-2009

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, HIV/AIDS Bureau, Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program. SPNS grantees are awarded funds to design, implement, and evaluate innovative strategies that encourage hard-to-reach populations living with HIV/AIDS to access and remain engaged in primary health care and support services. This report explores SPNS grantee experiences with peer models, in order to identify how peer models can best be employed. Topics include: barriers to care for HIV-positive medically underserved community, and the role and effectiveness of peers in improving health outcomes.