Community health workers can be a public health force for change in the United States: Three actions for a new paradigm

H. Balcazar, E. Lee Rosenthal, J. Nell Brownstein, C.H. Rush, S. Matos and L. Hernandez

American Journal of Public Health, 2011, vol. 101, issue 12, 2199-2203

Abstract: Community health workers (CHWs) have gained increased visibility in the United States. We discuss how to strengthen the roles of CHWs to enable them to become collaborative leaders in dramatically changing health care from "sickness care" systems to systems that provide comprehensive care for individuals and families and support community and tribal wellness. We recommend drawing on the full spectrum of CHWs' rolesso that they can make optimal contributions to health systems and the building of community capacity for health and well-ness. We also urge that CHWs be integrated into "commu-nity health teams" as part of "medical homes" and that evaluation frameworks be improved to better measure community wellness and systems change.

Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2011.300386_7

DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2011.300386

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