BackgroundStrengthening Community Health Worker systems has been recognized to improve access to chronic disease prevention and management efforts in low-resource communities. The Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) Program is a Native non-profit organization with formal partnerships with both the Navajo Nation Community Health Representative (CHR) Program and the clinical facilities serving the Navajo Nation. COPE works to better integrate CHRs into the local health care system through training, strengthening care coordination, and a standardized culturally appropriate suite of health promotion materials for CHRs to deliver to high-risk individuals in their homes.MethodsThe objective of this mixed methods, cross sectional evaluation of a longitudinal cohort study was to explore how the COPE Program has effected CHR teams over the past 6 years. COPE staff surveyed CHRs in concurrent years (2014 and 2015) about their perceptions of and experience working with COPE, including potential effects COPE may have had on communication among patients, CHRs, and hospital-based providers. COPE staff also conducted focus groups with all eight Navajo Nation CHR teams.ResultsCHRs and other stakeholders who viewed our results agree that COPE has improved clinic-community linkages, primarily through strengthened collaborations between Public Health Nurses and CHRs, and access to the Electronic Health Records. CHRs perceived that COPE’s programmatic support has strengthened their validity and reputation with providers and clients, and has enhanced their ability to positively effect health outcomes among their clients. CHRs report an improved ability to deliver health coaching to their clients. Survey results show that 80.2% of CHRs feel strongly positive that COPE trainings are useful, while 44.6% of CHRs felt that communication and teamwork had improved because of COPE.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that CHRs have experienced positive benefits from COPE through training. COPE may provide a useful programmatic model on how best to support other Community Health Workers through strengthening clinic-community linkages, standardizing competencies and training support, and structuring home-based interventions for high-risk individuals.

Background: Community Health Representatives (CHRs) overcome health disparities in Native communities by delivering home care, health education, and community health promotion. The Navajo CHR Program partners with the non-profit Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE), to provide home-based outreach to Navajo clients living with diabetes. COPE has created an intervention (COPE intervention) focusing on multiple levels of improved care including trainings for CHRs on Motivational Interviewing and providing CHRs with culturallyappropriate education materials. The objective of this research is to understand the participant perspective of the CHR-COPE collaborative outreach through exploring patient-reported outcomes (PROs) of clients who consent to receiving the COPE intervention (COPE clients) using a qualitative methods evaluation. Methods: Seven COPE clients were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews one year after finishing COPE to explore their perspective and experiences. Qualitative interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded to identify themes. Results: Clients revealed that health education delivered by CHRs facilitated lifestyle changes by helping them understand key health indicators and setting achievable goals through the use of accessible material and encouragement. Clients felt comfortable with CHRs who respected traditional practices and made regular visits. Clients also appreciated when CHRs educated their family members, who in turn were better able to support the client in their health management. Finally, CHRs who implemented the COPE intervention helped patients who were unable to regularly see a primary care doctor for critical care and support in their disease management. Conclusion: The COPE-CHR collaboration facilitated trusting client-CHR relationships and allowed clients to better understand their diagnoses. Further investment in materials that respect traditional practices and aim to educate clients' families may foster these relationships and improve health outcomes. Trial registration: clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03326206. Registered 9/26/2017 (retrospectively registered).

BackgroundNavajo Nation Community Health Representatives (CHR) are trained community health workers (CHWs) who provide crucial services for patients and families. The success of the CHRs’ interventions depends on the interactions between the CHRs and their clients. This research investigates the culturally specific factors that build and sustain the CHR-client interaction.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted with 16 CHRs on Navajo Nation. Interviews were transcribed and coded according to relevant themes. Code summaries were organized into a narrative using grounded theory techniques.ResultsThe analysis revealed four findings critical to the development of a CHR-client relationship. Trust is essential to this relationship and provides a basis for providing quality services to the client. The ability to build and maintain trust is defined by tradition and culture. CHRs must be respectful of the diverse traditional and social practices. Lastly, the passing of clients brings together the CHR, the client’s family, and the community.ConclusionUnderstanding the cultural elements of the CHR-client relationship will inform the work of community partners, clinical providers, and other indigenous communities working to strengthen CHR programs and obtain positive health outcomes among marginalized communities.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1956-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Introduction In 2014, the Navajo Nation Healthy Diné Nation Act (HDNA) was passed, combining a 2% tax on foods of ‘minimal-to-no-nutritional value’ and waiver of 5% sales tax on healthy foods, the first-ever such tax in the U.S. and globally among a sovereign tribal nation. The aim of this study was to measure changes in pricing and food availability in stores on the Navajo Nation following the implementation of the HDNA. Methods Store observations were conducted in 2013 and 2019 using the Nutrition Environment Measurement Survey-Stores (NEMS-S) adapted for the Navajo Nation. Observations included store location, type, whether healthy foods or HDNA were promoted, and availability and pricing of fresh fruits and vegetables, canned items, beverages, water, snacks and traditional foods. Differences between 2013 and 2019 and by store type and location were tested. Results The matched sample included 71 stores (51 in the Navajo Nation and 20 in border towns). In 2019, fresh produce was available in the majority of Navajo stores, with 71% selling at least 3 types of fruit and 65% selling at least 3 types of vegetables. Compared with border town convenience stores, Navajo convenience stores had greater availability of fresh vegetables and comparable availability of fresh fruit in 2019. The average cost per item of fresh fruit decreased by 13% in Navajo stores (from $0.88 to $0.76) and increased in border stores (from $0.63 to $0.73), resulting in comparable prices in Navajo and border stores in 2019. While more Navajo stores offered mutton, blue corn and wild plants in 2019 compared to 2013, these changes were not statistically significant. Discussion The findings suggest modest improvements in the Navajo store environment and high availability of fruits and vegetables. Navajo stores play an important role in the local food system and provide access to local, healthy foods for individuals living in this rural, tribal community.