In the National Academies 2003 report entitled Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care, community health workers (CHWs) were cited as an intervention strategy to better address health inequities in underserved communities where they provide services. A recently published study in the International Journal for Equity in Health on CHWs and health equity further concluded that “in order to optimize the equity impacts of CHW programs, we need to move beyond seeing CHWs as a temporary sticking plaster, and instead build meaningful partnerships . . . and address the underlying structures of inequity.” During the recent COVID pandemic the work of CHWs in Community Health Centers has particularly garnered attention for their impact advancing health equity. Through the generous support of Johnson & Johnson and its Race to Health Equity Initiative, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is identifying and elevating for replication strong partnerships to increase sustainability of CHWs in underserved communities to support health equity efforts.
This session highlights effective partnerships and approaches to sustain CHWs in Community Health Centers (CHCs) and surrounding communities. Learn how partnerships were formed, how they have been sustained, and lessons learned for sustaining the work of CHWs in Community Health Centers for the future.
