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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Romelia Rodriguez, CHW, Community Health Worker Network of NYC, 425 East 25th Street, Box 616, New York City, NY 10010, 718-742-2675, romelia@chwnetwork.org and Sergio Matos, CHW, Community Health Worker Network of NYC, 425 East 25th Street, Box 616, New York City, NY 10010.

Community Health Workers from the nations of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, the Bahamas and Republic of Trinidad & Tobago were interviewed to determine the nature of their work, their tasks and the set of skills that they consider essential to the conduct of their practice. They were also asked to identify which training methods they found most effective. The CHWs demanded that the training not be pedantic and that it include experiential methods and popular education techniques that they could use in their daily work. In response to these assessments, we developed a curriculum to help develop the skills thus identified. We have trained over 100 CHWs and several have gone on to conduct community needs assessments and successfully lobby their governments for support of proposals based on those assessments. They have trained other CHWs in their communities and have organized their field. In Tobago, the Ministry of Health now uses this comprehensive skill-based training as a tool for employing new CHWs and CHWs themselves have gone on to develop an independent professional association.

Participants find this training effective, rewarding and motivating. “Every session I learn more, I acquire more skills and I learn different methods of teaching,” says one participant. “These exercises and practice have given us soul-searching wisdom. We feel bonded and loved. These messages are penetrating,” says another. On the fourth day of training, one participant stated, “Another life-changing day for me. Thank you for sharing this information that will change my life forever”.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to
• Identify the set of skills that CHWs identify as essential to their practice
• Describe five experiential learning methods
• Discuss the value of liberation education for building capacity and developing empowerment
• Apply experiential learning methods in their training sessions

Keywords: Communication, Community Outreach

Related Web page: www.chwnetwork.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered