Résumé
Greater acknowledgement of the ways in which social determinants influence health has led to increased engagement of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in health promotion activities. This study sought to evaluate changes in CHW knowledge and beliefs via pre-/post-training surveys immediately following a four-day (∼20 hour) oral health intervention training and to gather CHW feedback on training. Significant increases in summary scores for 19 knowledge (t(9) = −6.715, p <.001) and four belief (t(9) = −2.994, p =.015) measures, using four-point Likert scales, were observed post-training. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with the majority of CHWs reporting confidence in understanding the material and study purpose. Findings support the effectiveness and acceptability of a brief training program to prepare CHWs to deliver an oral health intervention. CHWs hold promise to effectively engage populations in which the impact of interventions delivered by traditional oral healthcare team members has shown limited success.
| Langue d'origine | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (de-à) | 54-65 |
| Nombre de pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community |
| Volume | 47 |
| Numéro de publication | 1 |
| DOI | |
| Statut de publication | Published - janv. 2 2019 |
Financement
Community health workers (CHWs) are one such example and they are increasingly being incorporated into health promotion and disease prevention interventions and programs. As defined by the American Public Health Association (American Public Health Association, n.d.), CHWs are frontline public health workers who are trusted members of the communities they serve, providing community members with a link to essential health and social services (e.g. housing and legal aid, food assistance, counseling and educational programs, etc.), facilitating access to such services and supporting enhanced individual and community capacity by increasing health-related knowledge and self-sufficiency. Though CHWs have a long history of engagement in community organizations throughout the U.S. working under a variety of titles (e.g. promotores de salud, navigators, health coaches, etc.), they are only now increasingly becoming embraced by providers to improve healthcare delivery (Jewish Healthcare Foundation and The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation, 2015). A 2016 review of research on the effectiveness of incorporating CHWs in healthcare delivery acknowledged the potential of CHWs to, “… deliver cost-effective, high quality, and culturally competent health services within team-based care” and concluded that the greatest benefits arose when CHWs were engaged to deliver specific preventive services to particularly vulnerable populations – namely low-income, minority, or other underserved population groups (Snyder, 2016).
| Bailleurs de fonds | Numéro du bailleur de fonds |
|---|---|
| Jewish Healthcare Foundation |
ASJC Scopus Subject Areas
- Social Psychology