Effectiveness Of Community Health Workers Research Articles

Effect of Community Health Workers on 30-Day Hospital Readmissions in an Accountable Care Organization Population

Value-based care within accountable care organizations (ACOs) has magnified the importance of reducing preventable hospital readmissions. Community health worker (CHW) interventions may address patients' unmet psychosocial and clinical care needs but have been underused in inpatient and postdischarge care. To determine if pairing hospitalized patients with ACO insurance with CHWs would reduce 30-day readmission rates. This randomized clinical trial was conducted in 6 general medicine hospital units within 1 academic medical center in Boston, Massachusetts. Participants included adults hospitalized from April 1, 2017, through March 31, 2019, who had ACO insurance and were at risk for 30-day readmission based on a hospital readmission algorithm. The main inclusion criterion was frequency of prior nonelective hospitalizations (≥2 in the past 3 months or ≥3 in the 12 months prior to enrollment). Data were analyzed from February 1, 2018, through March 3, 2021. CHWs met with intervention participants prior to discharge and maintained contact for 30 days postdischarge to assist participants with clinical access and social resources via telephone calls, text messages, and field visits. CHWs additionally provided psychosocial support and health coaching, using motivational interviewing, goal-setting, and other behavioral strategies. The control group received usual care, which included routine care from primary care clinics and any outpatient referrals made by hospital case management or social work at the time of discharge. The primary outcome was 30-day hospital readmissions. Secondary outcomes included 30-day missed primary care physician or specialty appointments. A total of 573 participants were enrolled, and 550 participants (mean [SD] age, 70.1 [15.7] years; 266 [48.4%] women) were included in analysis, with 277 participants randomized to the intervention group and 273 participants randomized to the control group. At baseline, participants had a mean (SD) of 3 (0.8) hospitalizations in the prior 12 months. There were 432 participants (78.5%) discharged home and 127 participants (23.1%) discharged to a short rehabilitation stay prior to returning home. Compared with participants in the control group, participants in the intervention group were less likely to be readmitted within 30 days (odds ratio [OR], 0.44; 95% CI, 0.28-0.90) and to miss clinic appointments within 30 days (OR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.38-0.81). A post hoc subgroup analysis showed that compared with control participants, intervention participants discharged to rehabilitation had a reduction in readmissions (OR, 0.09; 95% CI, 0.03-0.31), but there was no significant reduction for those discharged home (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.41-1.12). This randomized clinical trial found that pairing ACO-insured inpatient adults with CHWs reduced readmissions and missed outpatient visits 30 days postdischarge. The effect was significant for those discharged to short-term rehabilitation but not for those discharged home. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03085264.

Effect of a home-based health, nutrition and responsive stimulation intervention and conditional cash transfers on child development and growth: a cluster-randomised controlled trial in Tanzania

IntroductionEvidence on the effects of community health worker (CHW) interventions and conditional cash transfers (CCTs) on child growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa remains sparse.MethodsWe conducted a single-blind, cluster-randomised controlled...

Community Health Workers as Healthcare Navigators in Primary Care Chronic Disease Management: a Systematic Review

This review was carried out to synthesize the evidence of the effectiveness of community health worker (CHW) navigation in primary care chronic disease management. We searched the English language literature between January 1990 and March 2020 in Medline, Embase, Emcare, PubMed, Psych Info, CINAHL, Scopus, and Medline Epub ahead of print. Data extraction, quality rating, and assessment of the reporting of interventions were performed by two reviewers independently and the findings were synthesized narratively. Twenty-nine articles met the inclusion criteria. All but two were carried out in the USA and half were randomized controlled trials. Six of the 29 studies were of strong methodological quality while 12 were moderate and 11 weak. Overall, CHW navigation interventions were effective in increasing adherence to cancer screening and improving use of primary care for chronic disease management. There was insufficient evidence that they improved clinical outcomes or risk factors and reduced use of secondary or tertiary care or that they were cost-effective. However, criteria for recruitment, duration, and mode of training and supervision arrangements varied greatly between studies. CHW navigation interventions improved aspects of chronic disease management. However, there is insufficient evidence of the impact on patient experience, clinical outcomes, or cost-effectiveness of the interventions. Future research should focus on standardizing organizational components of the CHW navigation interventions and evaluating their cost-effectiveness. The review protocol was published in PROSPERO (CRD42020153921).

Community Health Workers Improve Smoking Cessation When They Recruit Patients in Their Home Villages.

Introduction/Objective:Community health workers (CHWs) can play a vital role in many aspects of healthcare, particularly for underserved communities, but it is unclear what factors are most important in determining the success of CHW-based programs. We wanted to assess what factors contribute to the effectiveness of CHWs in a smoking cessation program.Methods:We trained CHWs in 3 areas regarding smoking cessation: knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP). The training program utilized the 5A’s as approach. CHWs actively sought out people addicted to cigarettes to participate. Patients received support from CHWs and a team of medical professionals for a year. At the conclusion of the program, focus group discussions with a group of CHWs, a group of patients, and a group of medical professionals were conducted.Results:On average, patients reduced their cigarettes/day by 7.2% and 29% of patients were completely cigarette free at a 1-year follow-up. Patients marginally decreased exhalation CO levels and increased lung capacity. CHWs gained a good understanding of health risks associated with smoking and common methods to help quit. Their attitude became more sympathetic and caring. CHWs exhibited patient-specific solutions to help with smoking cessation and actively sought out people to participate in the smoking cessation program.Conclusions:A smoking cessation program combining CHWs and pharmacists was effective. Key factors were having CHWs that are respected and established in their communities, using CHWs who know their patients and can provide individually tailored solutions, and empowering CHWs with intensive training.

More than the pandemic

More than the pandemic

A Cluster-Randomized Trial to Test Sharing Histories as a Training Method for Community Health Workers in Peru.

Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly deployed to support mothers' adoption of healthy home practices in low- and middle-income countries. However, little is known regarding how best to train them for the capabilities and cultural competencies needed to support maternal health behavior change. We tested a CHW training method, Sharing Histories (SH), in which CHWs recount their own childbearing and childrearing experiences on which to build new learning. We conducted an embedded cluster-randomized trial in rural Peru in 18 matched clusters. Each cluster was a primary health facility catchment area. Government health staff trained female CHWs using SH (experimental clusters) or standard training methods (control clusters). All other training and system-strengthening interventions were equal between study arms. All CHWs conducted home visits with pregnant women and children aged 0-23 months to teach, monitor health practices and danger signs, and refer. The primary outcome was height-for-age (HAZ)<-2 Z-scores (stunting) in children aged 0-23 months. Household surveys were conducted at baseline (606 cases) and 4-year follow-up (606 cases). Maternal and child characteristics were similar in both study arms at baseline and follow-up. Difference-in-differences analysis showed mean HAZ changes were not significantly different in experimental versus control clusters from baseline to endline (P=.469). However, in the subgroup of literate mothers, mean HAZ improved by 1.03 on the Z-score scale in experimental clusters compared to control clusters from baseline to endline (P=.059). Using generalized estimating equations, we demonstrated that stunting in children of mothers who were literate was significantly reduced (Beta=0.77; 95% confidence interval=0.23, 1.31; P<.01), adjusting for covariates. Compared with standard training methods, SH may have improved the effectiveness of CHWs as change agents among literate mothers to reduce child stunting. Stunting experienced by the children of illiterate mothers may have involved unaddressed determinants of stunting.

Healthy skin for everyone: Long-term effectiveness of a multicomponent, community-based skin cancer intervention program for an underserved Hispanic population

To the Editor: Minority groups are often diagnosed with melanomas at more advanced stages, with few culturally appropriate public health interventions available.1 The positive impacts of community health worker (CHW) programs have been established for the prevention of other cancers, but limited studies examining the effect of CHWs for skin cancer prevention exist.2,3

Effect of community health workers' visits on uptake of modern contraception among rural women of reproductive age in Nigeria.

This paper assessed the effect of visits by Community Health Workers (CHW) in the prior 12 months on modern contraceptive use at the time of the survey using a national sample of women residing in rural communities in Nigeria. Cross-sectional data from 5072 rural women ages 15-49 years interviewed in the PMA2020 Survey in 6 states in Nigeria in 2018 were used. Descriptive analysis and generalized linear models were conducted in Stata 15.1 and average marginal effects calculated. Overall prevalence of modern contraceptive use was 14.8% (95% CI: 12.7%, 17.3%), varying from 2.1% in Kano to 22.7% in Nasarawa. Ten percent of women reported that they were visited by a community health worker in the 12-month period preceding the survey, ranging from 2.9% in Kano to 14.6% in Nasarawa. Women visited by a CHW had 50% higher odds of reporting modern contraceptive use, and these visits raised the probability of modern contraceptive use by an average of 6.4 percentage points overall. Local governments in rural Nigeria should invest in training, deploying and supervising CHWs in the provision of modern contraception through home visits to women who may otherwise have limited access to improve use.

The distinctive roles of urban community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of the literature.

Addressing urban health challenges in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been hampered by lack of evidence on effective mechanisms for delivering health services to the poor. The urban disadvantaged experience poor health outcomes (often worse than rural counterparts) and face service barriers. While community health workers (CHWs) have been extensively employed in rural communities to address inequities, little attention has been given to understanding the roles of CHWs in urban contexts. This study is the first to systematically examine urban CHW roles in LMICs. It aims to understand their roles vis-à-vis other health providers and raise considerations for informing future scope of practice and service delivery models. We developed a framework that presents seven key roles performed by urban CHWs and position these roles against a continuum of technical to political functions. Our scoping review included publications from four databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Social Sciences Citation Index) and two CHW resource hubs. We included all peer-reviewed, CHW studies situated in urban/peri-urban, LMIC contexts. We identify roles (un)commonly performed by urban CHWs, present the range of evidence available on CHW effectiveness in performing each role and identify considerations for informing future roles. Of 856 articles, 160 met the inclusion criteria. Programmes spanned 34 LMICs. Studies most commonly reported evidence on CHWs roles related to health education, outreach and elements of direct service provision. We found little overlap in roles between CHWs and other providers, with some exceptions. Reported roles were biased towards home visiting and individual-capacity building, and not well-oriented to reach men/youth/working women, support community empowerment or link with social services. Urban-specific adaptations to roles, such as peer outreach to high-risk, stigmatized communities, were limited. Innovation in urban CHW roles and a better understanding of the unique opportunities presented by urban settings is needed to fully capitalize on their potential.

Strategies Used By Community Health Workers to Influence Adoption of Maternal Nutrition Behaviors in Rural Bangladesh: A Focused Ethnographic Study

Abstract Objectives Efforts to integrate nutrition into antenatal health promotion in low income countries have led to increased involvement of community health workers (CHWs) in counseling on maternal nutrition. Little is known about how CHWs “package” messages in resource-poor communities to increase adoption of recommended maternal nutrition behaviors. We developed focused ethnographic techniques to explore this. Methods We interviewed 35 randomly selected CHWs providing monthly counseling to pregnant women and their families in 7 ‘Alive &amp; Thrive’ intervention sites in Bangladesh. Two sorting exercises explored CHW strategies for promoting and perceptions of adoption of messages on micronutrient supplements, maternal dietary adequacy, and rest during pregnancy. In-depth probing on messages identified as “difficult” to deliver or adopt revealed how CHWs addressed barriers. Analysis of quantitative sorting data complemented thematic coding of qualitative textual data using grounded theory. Results CHW communication strategies involved 3 themes: feasibility (attitudes, norms, agency, poverty), audience (influence, motivators, support), and linguistic choice (emotional appeals, metaphors, logic, sellable but inaccurate arguments). CHWs viewed micronutrient messages as least difficult to adopt, requiring minimal “packaging”. Dietary messages were moderately difficult to adopt, prompting CHWs to leverage cultural congruence to target family members with different strategies. For example, messaging on diet diversity targeted husbands—the primary food-buyers—with logical arguments highlighting costs of inaction. When mothers-in-law held beliefs restricting gestational food intake, CHWs used metaphors (‘healthy tree, healthy fruit’) or faith-based appeals. Some CHWs used inaccurate messages (‘mother rests, baby rests’) to promote rest during pregnancy because it was seen as the least feasible behavior to adopt. Conclusions Where behavior change is viewed as feasible, CHWs use culturally resonant strategies to enhance adoption of maternal nutrition behaviors. Cultural congruence, or shared beliefs, language and cultural identity, is key to CHW effectiveness, but unhelpful for contextually infeasible behaviors. BCC programs co-designed with CHWs could improve messaging and effectiveness. Funding Sources Cornell AWARE Travel Grant.

Assessing the Feasibility of an Online Training Designed to Enable Community Health Workers to Deliver a Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Weight Loss Intervention for Rural African Americans of Faith.

Obesity is a critical modifiable risk factor in cancer prevention, control, and survivorship. Comprehensive weight loss interventions (e.g., Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)) have been recommended by governmental agencies to treat obesity. However, their high implementation costs limit their reach, especially in underserved African American (AA) communities. Community health workers (CHWs) or trusted community members can help increase access to obesity interventions in underserved regions facing provider shortages. CHW-led interventions have increased weight loss. However, in-person CHW training can be costly to deliver and often requires extensive travel to implement. Web-based trainings have become common to increase reach at reduced cost. However, the feasibility of an online CHW training to deliver the DPP in AAs is unknown. The feasibility of an online CHW training to deliver the DPP adapted for AAs was assessed. The online training was compared to an in-person DPP training with established effectiveness. CHW effectiveness and satisfaction were assessed at baseline and 6weeks. Nineteen participants (in-person n = 10; online n = 9) were recruited. At post-training, all scored higher than the 80% on a knowledge test required to deliver the intervention. All participants reported high levels of training satisfaction (88.9% of online participants and 90% of in-person participants rated the training as at least 6 on a 1-7 scale) and comfort to complete intervention tasks (78% of online participants and 60% of in-person participants scored at least 6 on a 1-7 scale). There were no significant differences in outcomes by arm. An online CHW training to deliver the DPP adapted for AAs faith communities produced comparable effectiveness and satisfaction to an evidence-based in-person CHW training. Further research is needed to assess the cost-effectiveness of different CHW training modalities to reduce obesity.

Effectiveness of community health workers in improving early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding rates in a low-resource setting: A cluster-randomized longitudinal study.

Little evidence exists in Kenya on the potential of community health workers (CHWs) in promoting exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) and early breastfeeding initiation (EBI) in resource‐restricted settings where very low EBF rates (2% to 12%) have been documented. The study utilized CHWs and assessed their effectiveness in promoting EBF and EBI. The cluster‐randomized longitudinal design was used and sixteen villages from Kiandutu Slum in Thika randomly assigned into either intervention group (IG) or comparison group (CG). Pregnant women attending Maternal Child Health (MCH) clinic were recruited. The IG received nutrition education sessions conducted by CHWs at home, two prenatally and six postnatally, plus the routine MCH care. The CG went through routine MCH care only. Infants feeding data were collected at 6, 10, 14, and 24 weeks postpartum by research assistants blinded to the intervention allocation. Differences in EBF and EBI in the two groups were tested using χ 2 tests, Kaplan–Meier survival analysis and generalized estimating equations. Of the 526 recruited in the study, 431 remained and were included in the analysis (IG = 176) and CG (225). The prevalence of EBF at 24 weeks was 45.3% in the IG compared with 15.0% in the CG, revealing a statistically significant difference log rank = 20.277, (1, n = 314) p < .001. The difference was not statistically significant in EBI prevalence between the IG (58.2%) and CG (60.3%; χ 2 = 0.008, p = .928). The CHWs have potential effectiveness in promoting EBF but not EBI. The link between the health center and CHWs should be strengthened to promote EBF.

Observational stepped-wedge analysis of a community health worker-led intervention for diabetes and hypertension in rural Mexico

ObjectivesThere is emerging interest and data supporting the effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs) in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in low/middle-income countries (LMICs). This study aimed to determine whether a CHW-led...

Evaluation of the effectiveness of community health workers in the fight against malaria in the Central African Republic (2012-2017).

This last decade's ongoing conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR) has led to gradual and continuous destruction of health services. With severe gaps in qualified health professionals, community health workers (CHWs) have become essential to ensuring health care access to the affected population. This article aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a 10-y CHW program in the CAR. Routine case management data from CHWs were collected in the Paoua district from January 2012 to December 2017 and analysed. Structured interviews were conducted in the Paoua and Carnot health districts among individuals from three different groups (health service beneficiaries, CHWs and health facility managers). From 2012 to 2017, 353948 people consulted for malaria suspicion with CHWs and 86% were found to be malaria positive after a rapid diagnostic test. Among those diagnosed patients, 98.5% received adequate treatment and nearly 1.5% were referred to health facilities. Also, 94.5% of respondents identified fever as the major malaria symptom. About 70% of the population could identify three malaria signs/symptoms and 84.4% accepted and used CHW services. Interviews with CHWs revealed that 45.8% of them received at least four training sessions per month as part of their capacity building. CHWs can be a resourceful solution when other health professional are scarce. This study showed that CHWs are not only able to deliver curative and preventive health services, but they are also well accepted by the served communities.

The Impact of Centralized Employment Structure on Community Health Work

While community health workers (CHWs) are employed in various arrangements, little is known about the association between organizational structure and CHW experiences. Seventeen in-depth interviews were conducted with CHWs, supervisors, and leadership employed in one centrally organized setting to investigate organizational structure and perceptions of CHW effectiveness. A model that hired employees but assigned them to various settings offered support and unique career advancement opportunities. Coordinated education, ongoing trainings, and persistent supervision were perceived to improve the accuracy of resource information and facilitated collaboration across the health care system with increased health care team communication, offering insights into other organizational structures.

2286-PUB: Factors Associated with Stigma toward Antidepressants among Latino Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Comorbid Depression in Safety-Net Clinic

Stigma toward antidepressants (STA) undermines effectiveness of depression care for Latinos with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in safety-net clinics. However, we don’t know who are more susceptible to STA among Latinos with T2DM and comorbid depression in safety-net clinics. To fill this gap, we analyzed cross-sectional data collected from 333 Latino patients recruited from three safety-net clinics located within Latino ethnic enclaves in Los Angeles, California. We analyzed a portion of baseline survey in a randomized clinical trial that tested the effectiveness of community health workers in safety-net clinics, accredited Patient-Centered Medical Home, and participants had to show PHQ-9 score ≥10 to be eligible (56.6 the mean age; 13.8% male; 91.0% Spanish only; 75.4% below high school; 46.8% married). STA was measured by the Latino Scale for Antidepressant Stigma (LSAS). Predictors include patient’s demographic attributes (age, gender, Spanish speaking, education, marital status), depression status (previous diagnosis with major depressive disorder, PHQ-9 score), the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC), and the Self-Efficacy for Managing Chronic Disease (SEMCD). When compared patients who endorsed any stigma (LSAS ≥1; N=217) and those who didn’t (LSAS ≥ 0; N=116), those with any stigma were less likely to be married (p&amp;lt;.01) and reported lower PACIC score (p&amp;lt;.01) Multiple regression was used to identify factors associated with STA. The adjusted R square was 0.098, and speaking Spanish (β=.12; p&amp;lt;.05), never married (β =.12; p&amp;lt;.01; ref=married), and SEMCD (β=-.19; p&amp;lt;.01) were associated with STA. When a Latino patient with T2DM was screened for elevated depressive symptoms and is prescribed with antidepressants in a community health center, services helping debunk stigma is recommended to those speaking Spanish, isolated, or presenting lower self-efficacy for managing diabetes. Disclosure H. Oh: None. K. Ell: None. Funding Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute

Effect of a community health worker delivered health, nutrition and responsive stimulation package and conditional cash transfers on child development and growth in rural Tanzania: protocol for a cluster-randomized trial

BackgroundChild health, nutrition, and responsive stimulation interventions have been developed to improve child survival, growth and development outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Nevertheless, research on integrated implementation approaches to deliver and promote uptake of these interventions is needed, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.Methods/designWe will conduct a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a supply-side community health worker (CHW) delivered child health, nutrition, and responsive stimulation intervention alone and in combination with a demand-side conditional cash transfer (CCT) intervention to promote antenatal care and child growth monitoring attendance in rural Morogoro region, Tanzania. Twelve village clusters will be randomly assigned to one of the three trial arms: (1) CHW, (2) CHW + CCT, or (3) Control. Mothers (or another primary caregiver) residing in study villages are eligible for trial enrollment if they are currently pregnant or have a child < 1 year of age at the time of enrollment. For the duration of the trial, CHWs will visit households once every 4–6 weeks to deliver the intervention package and CCTs will be provided for documented antenatal care and routine child health and growth monitoring clinic visits. Participants will be followed-up at 9 months (midline) and 18 months (endline) post-randomization. The primary outcomes of the trial are child development assessed by the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) and child height-for-age z-score. Secondary outcomes include a range of maternal, child and household outcomes.DiscussionThis trial will provide evidence on the effect of CHWs and conditional cash transfers on child growth and development. The results of the trial may be generalizable to similar settings in sub-Saharan Africa.Trial registrationISRCTN10323949, Retrospectively registered on October 3, 2017.

Are community health workers more effective in identifying persons in need of home and community-based long-term services than standard-passive approaches

ABSTRACTConsumers prefer home and community-based long-term care (LTC) services (HCBS) but lack information on those services. We examined the use of community health workers (CHWs) to find and help Medicaid beneficiaries with unmet LTC needs access HCBS compared to standard HCBS outreach approaches. We found that CHWs were very effective at finding persons with greater needs and were better able to help them access a greater range of HCBS services. We also found that five times fewer HCBS beneficiaries helped by CHWs had to use nursing home care services than those not helped by the CHWs despite the fact that their health status was poorer than those not helped by the CHWs. Our study provides evidence of the effectiveness of CHWs for HCBS service awareness and navigation.

Do community health workers affect non-urgent, ambulatory healthcare utilization among low-income, minority patients with diabetes?

Community health workers (CHWs) can reduce emergent care among low-income, ethnic minority patients with type 2 diabetes. A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial evaluated the effect of CHWs on non-urgent, ambulatory healthcare utilization. Within this trial, no effect on ambulatory care was found.

Development of a Framework to Describe Functions and Practice of Community Health Workers.

There is evidence to support the effectiveness of community health workers (CHWs), as they practice in a wide range of health care settings; yet, the perceived value of CHWs suffers from a lack of uniform credentialing and from a dearth of billing and payment structures to recognize their individual work. In turn, credentialing and billing for the work of CHWs is hampered by widely variable regulation, conflicting job titles and position descriptions, and general confusion about CHW identity, sometimes complicated by service boundaries that overlap with those of other health care and social service occupations. This article presents evidence from a rapid review of the CHW literature from 2003 to 2018. It includes clinical trials, meta-analyses, and policy reports summarizing more than 200 CHW interventions intended to improve patient health status or care delivery. The evidence is used to identify CHW roles, responsibilities, behaviors, and competencies. Four categories of CHW practice are developed from the evidence: peer CHW, general CHW, clinical CHW, and health navigator. A framework is proposed to recognize unique CHW roles, promote and further integrate varied levels of CHW function into health care-related organizations, and to inform decisions regarding certification, education, and payment for CHW services in the United States.