The Missing Link: Improving the Effectiveness of Chronic Disease Interventions through the Training and Integration of Community Health Workers (CHWs) into Healthcare Teams
- J. Nell Brownstein, PhD, MA, CDC Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
- Anne Willaert, Project Design and Development Healthcare Education Industry Partnership
- Stanton Shanedling, PhD, MPH, Minnesota Department of Health, Heart Disease and Stroke Disease Unit
- Anita Christie, RN, MHA, CPHQ, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
- Gail Hirsch, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Office of Community Health Workers
- Moderator: Tarisha Cockrell, MPH, CDC Contractor/Columbus Technologies, Inc.
Session Objective
The objectives for this session are to:
- Describe the Community Health Worker’s (CHWs) role, effectiveness, and integration within chronic disease interventions or within Medical Homes that serve medically underserved and racial and ethnic populations.
- Identify CHW training resources.
- Identify potential ways to promote and/or adopt the Community Health Worker’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Sourcebook or the California’s Community Health Worker’s guide within chronic disease interventions.
- Identify potential partners to collaborate with to incorporate CHWs into funded programs throughout their state or tribal organizations.
- Describe how two states have played critical roles in promoting comprehensive policy and system changes to train and support CHWs, including Medicaid reimbursement for their services.
Session Summary
This session offers participants an overview of the role and effectiveness of Community Health Workers in the care of persons with chronic diseases, and valuable heart disease and stroke prevention training curricula.
In the activity, participants discuss how they will either promote the adoption or incorporate components of the Community Health Worker’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention sourcebook and/or the California WISEWOMAN Program’s community health worker guide in their community/state/tribal organization. The discussion will focus on actions that could lead to comprehensive policy and systems changes that integrate Community Health Workers into health care teams and provide reimbursement for their services. This workshop activity is conducted in a large group discussion.
Session Materials
Resources/References/Web Sites/Tools
- The Community Health Worker’s Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Sourcebook.
http://www.cdc.gov/DHDSP/library/chw_sourcebook/index.htm
- Your Heart, Your Life: A Lay Health Educator’s Manual
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/latino/eng_mnl.pdf
- Honoring the Gift of Heart Health: A Heart Health Educator’s Manual for American Indians and Alaska Natives
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/other/aian_manual/amer_indian.htm
- Corazón de la Familia (Heart of the Family) - The California WISEWOMAN Program
http://www.center-trt.org/index.cfm?fa=wwinterventions.intervention&intervention=corazon&page=intent
- Farrell, M., Hayashi, T., Loo, R., Rocha, D., Sanders, C., Hernandez, M., and Will, J. Clinic-Based Nutrition and Lifestyle Counseling for Hispanic Women Delivered by Community Healthworkers: Design of the California WISEWOMAN Study. Journal of Women’s Health. 18(5), 733-739 (2009).
