Successes and Lessons Learned From Implementing Community Health Worker Programs in Community-Based and Clinical Settings: Insights From the Gulf Coast

Abstract

Evaluating successes and lessons learned in CHW work is critical to maximize CHWs' abilities to address clients' health needs and promote health in underserved communities. This study provides important insights into how to successfully integrate CHWs into the public health workforce.

The Use of Community Health Workers in Community Health Centers

“…While our study does not address the reasons why health centers have been slow to add CHWs to their enabling services workforce, our results are consistent with prior research that points to substantial financial barriers associated with CHCs’ expanding the use of CHWs in their clinics. 8 , 35 CHCs are resource-strained safety net organizations that face chronic funding challenges among a growing and increasingly complex patient population. Lack of investment in CHWs is a missed opportunity from a quality of care and financial perspective; a 2020 study of a CHW intervention calculated a return of $2.47 for every dollar invested by an average Medicaid payer in the program.…”

Implementing Two Randomized Pragmatic Trials of HPV Self-sampling among Underserved Women: Challenges and Lessons Learned

“…We note that several lessons we learned, including lessons pertaining to CHW training and fidelity, clarifying the role of the CHW, and community engagement and outreach, have also been described in the previous literature, and are likely common to many CBPR initiatives. For example, Sherman et al 18 reported that CHWs providing community health services in Gulf Coast states experienced challenges in community engagement, which necessitated collaboration with community partners, as well as attendance at community events. Moreover, these researchers also found that the role of the CHWs needed to be clarified for collaborators, including physicians and staff at local health centers, and frequent communications were necessary to define the CHWs' scope of practice.…”

Environmental health risk relationships, responsibility, and sources of information among Vietnamese Americans in coastal Mississippi

“…The CHWs, who are themselves members of the Vietnamese American community, serve as liaisons with local health centres, provide interpretation for and accompany clients to medical appointments, and assist clients to obtain health insurance when possible. The CHW model has been successfully implemented in the U.S. Gulf Coast (Sherman et al, 2017) and other national and international contexts.…”