 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Vicki Legion, Community Health Works of SF/YES WE CAN, San Francisco State University, Department of Health Education, 1600 Holloway Ave, San Francisco, CA 94132, 415-338-3480, vlegion@sfsu.edu
The federal Occupational Outlook report predicts that community health workers will be one of the ten fastest-growing fields in the next decade. There are two main factors driving the growth of this field: (1) language and culture gaps between health professionals and patients, leading to poor self-management and errors in following medical regimens; (2) a shift from an acute care model of care, based on brief doctor-centered interventions to a chronic care model that emphasizes teaching patients how to self-manage their conditions over time in the home setting. Funded by The California Endowment The YES WE CAN (YWC) Urban Asthma Project is a coalition of more than 20 of the major players in health care in San Francisco. YWC’s goal is to demonstrate a medical/social team model for prevention-oriented asthma care with low income chidren and to develop the YWC Tool kit to provide materials needed for national dissemination. The YWC model is now in use at three demonstration sites,: SF General Hospital, Mission Neighborhood Health Center and Excelsior Clinic. Home visits, culturally sensitive education and tight coordination of the care team are some crucial components. Preliminary results are positive. Yes We Can’s sample group dropped their ER visits down from 63 percent to 31 percent and reduced hospital overnight stays to 3 percent (from 21 percent). Where less than half the children once used their controller medications, now a full 83 percent are in use.
Learning Objectives:
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment