Community Health Workers: Integral Members of the Health Care Work Force

An article from the American Journal of Public Health. Provides a general overview of the integral role of CHW in the health care work force. Topics include: contributions of CHW in the U.S., characteristics of successful CHW programs, barriers to expanded use of CHW, and recommendations for strengthening and expanding use of CHW.

Focus on the Future: A Community Health Worker Research Agenda by and for the Field

A journal article from Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action. Describes the development of a CHW research agenda by and for the field. Research areas include: CHW impact on health status, CHW cost effectiveness, building CHW capacity and sustaining CHW on the job, funding options, CHW as capacity builders, and CHW promoting real access to care.

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.

Preparing Community Health Workers for Their Role as Agents of Social Change: Experience of the Community Capacitation Center

An article from the Journal of Community Practice. Discusses the idea that the way CHW are trained influences the roles they play, using the combined training method at the Community Capacitation Center in OR as an example. Maintains that efforts to integrate CHW into health and social service systems may be less effective if they fail to support the role of CHW as agents of social change.