Bringing community health workers into the electronic age


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

3072.0: Monday, December 12, 2005 - Board 7

Abstract #110010

Kimberly Conner, Community Health Advocate Division, Wright State University Center for Healthy Communities, 444 W. Third St., 13-204, Dayton, OH 45402, 937-512-4039, kimberly.conner@wright.edu, Karen Doty, Advocate, Division of Community Health Advocacy, Wright State University Center for Healthy Communities, 444 W. Third St., 13-204, Dayton, OH 45402, Mary M. Crimmins, MA, Wright State University, Center for Healthy Communities, 140 East Monument Avenue, Dayton, OH 45402, and Carla Clasen, RN/MPH, Center for Healthy Communities, Wright State University, 140 East Monument Avenue, Dayton, OH 45402.

Community Health Advocates, known more broadly as Community Health Workers, are an important component of HealthLink Miami Valley (HLMV), a Health Resource Services Administration (HRSA) funded Community Access Program in the city of Dayton, Montgomery County, Ohio. HLMV has improved access to health care for the health uninsured and underserved communities by linking health and social service agencies together as “Portal Sites” which identify individuals or families in need of services and refers them to Community Health Advocates, who then assist them to apply for Medicaid if appropriate and/or educate them about other medical and social resources they may be eligible to receive. As part of the HLMV project, a web-based data collection storage system was developed, and is available through role-based access on a virtual private network. This presentation will describe in detail the work of the Community Health Advocate how the design of the data system is currently used to specifically complement and enhance the work of the Advocates. We will discuss the processes involved in moving Advocates from a long-term paper system to the electronic web-based data system. Advantages and benefits realized from this change will be discussed, and pitfalls and barriers to changing from paper to electronic media will be identified with strategies to minimize them.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to

1. Describe the work of Community Health Workers in a program designed to provide outreach to increase enrollment in Medicaid and access to health care and social service programs.
2. Outline the process of moving Community Health Workers from a paper and pencil documentation process to a web-based data collection storage system.
3. Describe the benefits in time, accuracy, efficiency, and outcome assessment realized through the web-based system, as well as pitfalls and ways to avoid them.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

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The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA