title: Community health workers as an integral strategy in the REACH U.S. program to eliminate health inequities.
abstract: Mounting evidence indicates that community health workers (CHWs) contribute to improved behavioral and health outcomes and reductions in health disparities. We provide an overview (based on grantee reports and community action plans) that describe CHW contributions to 22 Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2007 to 2012, offering additional evidence of their contributions to the effectiveness of community public health programs. We then highlight how CHWs helped deliver REACH U.S. community interventions to meet differing needs across communities to bridge the gap between health care services and community members, build community and individual capacity to plan and implement interventions addressing multiple chronic health conditions, and meet community needs in a culturally appropriate manner. The experience, skills, and success gained by CHWs participating in the REACH U.S. program have fostered important individual community-level changes geared to increase health equity. Finally, we underscore the importance of CHWs being embedded within these communities and the flexibility they offer to intervention strategies, both of which are characteristics critical to meeting needs of communities experiencing health disparities. CHWs served a vital role in facilitating and leading changes and will continue to do so.
authors: YMCA of the USA, Washington, DC, USA cosgrove.shannon@gmail.com.
authors: Shannon
authors: S
authors: Cosgrove
authors: Center of Excellence in Women's Health, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.
authors: Martha
authors: M
authors: Moore-Monroy
authors: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors: Carolyn
authors: C
authors: Jenkins
authors: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Sheila R
authors: SR
authors: Castillo
authors: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Charles
authors: C
authors: Williams
authors: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors: Erlinda
authors: E
authors: Parris
authors: Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, Garden Grove, CA, USA.
authors: Jacqueline H
authors: JH
authors: Tran
authors: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors: Mark D
authors: MD
authors: Rivera
authors: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.
authors: J Nell
authors: JN
authors: Brownstein
mesh_terms: D057191:Capacity Building / Q000379:methods; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D054521:Cultural Competency; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D054525:Minority Health; D017146:Models, Organizational; D064890:Social Determinants of Health; D014481:United States
keywords: REACH U.S.; community health workers; health inequity; racial and ethic health disparities