Incubator for a multicultural California Association of Community Health Workers
When selecting candidates to enter a Community Health Worker training program look for the natural leaders in a community who are already doing the work. Look for people who have the trust of their community, have a deep cultural and linguistic knowledge of the community to be served, are intrinsically compassionate and non judgmental. These intrinsic aspects of a person are very hard, if not impossible to teach in a classroom setting.
Paving a Path to Advance the CHW Workforce
Preferred CHW Attributes (P 15)
Persistent, Creative and Resourceful
Empathetic, Caring, Compassionate
Open Minded/ Non Judgmental/ Relativistic/Non-Dualistic
Dependable, Responsible, Reliable
Community Health Advisors (CHA) help people take greater control over their health and their lives. They promote healthy living by educating about how to prevent disease and injury as well as how to access health and human service systems. The National Community Health Advisory Study identified steps to strengthen outreach services of CHAs across the country. The study was funded by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Table of Contents
2. Methodology & Study Participants (pp. 8-10)
3. Core Roles and Competencies of Community Health Advisors (pp. 11-17)
Study Chapter written by Noel Wiggins, MSPH (Assisted by Angelina Borbon, PHN)
4. Evaluating CHA Services (pp. 18-24)
Study Chapter written by J. Nell Brownstein, PhD (Assisted by E. Lee Rosenthal, MPH)
5. Community Health Advisors - A Career in Development (pp. 25-33)
Study Chapter written by E. Lee Rosenthal, MPH
Study Youth Supplement written by Roberta Rael, et al.
6. Community Health Advisors in the Changing Health System (pp. 34-41)
Study Chapter written by Sarah Johnson, MSW, MPH
7. Conclusion (pp. 42-44)
Study Chapter written by E. Lee Rosenthal, MPH
Summary of Core Recommendations - Reference Page (pp. 45-46)
Community Health Workers come to their work with a passion resulting from lived experience of some of the same challenges faced by those they serve. It is important to recognize and value this source of knowledge.
Current efforts to better integrate Community Health Workers (CHWs) into the health and social service systems are promising, but may be less effective if they fail to support the role of CHWs as social change agents. The way CHWs are trained influences the roles they play. In this article, we review the literature on CHW training and summarize lessons learned to date. We describe how the Community Capacitation Center in Oregon uses a combination of content, methodology, and values to prepare CHWs to make an optimal contribution to health. Recommendations for CHW training programs and policy makers are provided.
KEYWORDS Community organizing, community capacity building, grassroots leadership, social change, social justice, community building
DOI:10.1080/10705422.2013.811622Authors:
Samantha KaanTeresa Rios-CamposRujuta Gaonka
The Promotor Model-A Model for Building Healthy Communities; A Framing Paper March 29, 2011 ( 47 pages of great information- here is a little taste! see link below to read the whole paper) http://www.visionycompromiso.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/TCE_Promotores-Framing-Paper.pdf
Primary Characteristics and Values of Promotores