Infographic
Community Health Workers (CHWs)
Addressing Health Disparities
A Community Health Worker is a frontline public health worker, who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the worker to serve as a liaison/link/intermediary between health/social services and the community to facilitate access to services, and improve the quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
“I feel like my job is to give patients hope, and to help them be self-sufficient.”
Roles
- Cultural mediation
- Health education/information
- Care coordination
- Case management
- System navigation
- Coaching/social support
- Advocating
- Capacity building
- Providing direct service
- Implementing assessments
- Conducting outreach
- Evaluation and research
Projection
100,000 or more job openings projected between 2020-2030
According to O*Net Online
Social Issues
Top six issues CHWs assist clients with:
Job Titles
- Community Health Worker
- Family Support Worker
- Social Work Associate
- Patient Support Services Coordinator
- Family and Refugee Services Coordinator
- Community Health Coordinator
- Home Visitor Client Advocate
- Outreach Specialist
- Homeless Liaison
- Care Coordinator
- Clinic Navigator
- Case Manager
- Health Coach
- and more …
Employers of CHWs
The data shared on this page is reflective of experiences shared by recent graduates of the CHW Professional Skills Training program sponsored by the Iowa Chronic Care Consortium. As such, they are not necessarily reflective of the experiences of the entire population of CHWs.