Enhancing the Education of Community Health Workers on Health Literacy and Cultural Humility in Times of COVID-19

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Community Health Workers (CHW) play a critical role in promoting the health of their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to educate CHW on health literacy and cultural humility became pivotal. Purpose The purpose of this paper was twofold: First, to evaluate the impact of training CHW on health literacy and cultural humility and second, to explore the views of CHW regarding their experience. Methods A multi-method approach that included a pre- and post-evaluation questionnaire and several open-ended questions was utilized to gather data. Seventy-three CHW participated in the training and a small group participated in a follow-up consultation session. Results Confidence in defining health literacy and Social Determinants of Health and identifying health literacy and cultural humility practices improved after the training. CHW also identified action steps they plan to implement in their daily work, as well as some challenges in implementing strategies. Discussion The authors make a call to providing CHW with ongoing training and support to enhance their capacity to impact their communities. Translation to Health Education Practice This article emphasizes several sub-competencies of the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing Inc. (NCHEC), such as creating an environment conducive to learning and developing culturally responsive content.