An article from the American Journal of Public Health. Shares the experience in Massachusetts in which a collaboration between CHW leaders across the state and public health allies achieved health objectives through alliance building and organizing, legislative advocacy, and education in the context of opportunities afforded by health care reform.
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Transforming the Delivery of Care in the Post-Health Reform Era: What Role Will Community Health Workers Play?
An article from the American Journal of Public Health. Provides an overview of how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has furthered the role of CHW.
Integrating Community Health Workers into a Reformed Health Care System
A report by The Urban Institute. Highlights the roles CHW play and the services they offer, documents CHW achievements and success, describes the obstacles and challenges to hiring CHW, discusses the increased opportunities for CHW under health care reform, and offers next steps for training and growing the CHW workforce.
Opportunities for Community Health Workers in the Era of Health Reform
A report published by The Urban Institute. Assesses the benefits and challenges of expanding CHW employment; catalogs how the ACA and other reform efforts have allowed further opportunities for sustainable employment of CHW; explores CHW implications of workforce issues, insurance enrollment needs, affordability and accessibility of services, and changes in approaches to public health and prevention; and highlights promising CHW opportunities in the public and private sectors.
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.
Return on Investment from Employment of Community Health Workers
An article from the Journal of Ambulatory Care Management. Discusses some of the unique concerns in considering return on investment from employing CHW and explores how close we are to an acceptance of CHW in the U.S. health care system.
Community Health Workers: A Review of Program Evolution, Evidence on Effectiveness and Value, and Status of Workforce Development in New England
A draft report by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. Evidence review and policy analysis in support of the New England Comparative Effectiveness Public Advisory Council. Goals of the review include 1) documentation of the evolution of CHW programs in New England and nationally, 2) summary of evidence on CHW program impact on health outcomes and costs, and identification of program components that led to success, 3) examination of potential budgetary impact of implementing CHW programs, and 4) listing of best practices in CHW implementation.
Achieving the Triple Aim: Success with Community Health Workers
A report published by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Highlights a number of ways healthcare providers and payer organizations can benefit from integrating CHWs into their teams to improve quality outcomes while reducing costs.
Affordable Care Act Opportunities for Community Health Workers – How Medicaid Preventive Services, Medicaid Health Homes, and State Innovation Models are Including Community Health Workers
A report by Harvard Law School, Center for Health Law & Policy Innovation. Overview of the three ways the Affordable Care Act has enhanced the role and opportunities for CHW in the U.S. healthcare system. As a result of these opportunities, states are choosing to implement CHW to: (1) provide increased Medicaid preventative health services, (2) create Medicaid “Health Homes” for beneficiaries living with chronic illness, and (3) improve health outcomes and quality of care while slowing growth in health costs through increased funding for State Innovation Models.