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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Angela J. Camilleri, MPH, MA¹, Cleveland Latimore², Miriam Urizar Rittmeyer, MD, PhD, MPH³, Isabel Haring³, Vicki J. Karlan, MPH¹, Julia D. Portale, MBA, MPH¹, Eileen Crowley¹, and Kenneth S. Babamoto, PharmD, MPH¹. (1) Pfizer Health Solutions, 2400 Broadway, Suite 500, Santa Monica, CA 90404, (310) 586-2516, angela.camilleri@pfizer.com, (2) Community Cardiovascular Council, 1900 Abercorn Street, Savannah, GA 31401, (3) Community HealthCare Center, 310 Eisenhower Drive, Bldg #5, Savannah, GA 31406

To address growing community concerns such as health disparities, lack of access to care, and chronic disease challenges, community health workers (CHWs) are emerging as a respected and effective intervention in the public health field. This model has been locally adopted in Chatham County, Georgia, where an estimated 44,000 adults are unable to access medical care because they are either uninsured or underinsured. A local non-profit clinic, Community HealthCare Center (CHC), was established to serve people in the community who have no health insurance and who do not exceed certain income requirements. A strong network of volunteers play an integral part of the multidisciplinary healthcare team of CHC, and include physicians, nurses, administrative staff, and CHWs.

CHC has partnered with Pfizer Health Solutions to implement Amigos en Salud (“Friends in Health”), an educational and skill-building program for Hispanic and African-American patients with diabetes/cardiovascular disease. Volunteer CHWs conduct classes, facilitate access to care, and offer individualized education and support to100 enrolled patients and their families. To evaluate the effectiveness of a fully volunteer-run intervention, self-reported behavior such as physical activity, healthy eating, and self-monitoring will be assessed among participants at pre/post intervention time intervals. In addition, clinical values, including A1c, lipids and BMI, will be assessed. Process evaluations will be conducted to determine specific strategies that are successful in coordinating and maintaining volunteer CHWs, and for potential national roll-out as a turn-key program model. The personal and unique perspective of a community health worker at CHC will be presented.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe the benefits and challenges of engaging volunteer Community Health Workers as a means to address health disparities in community settings.
• Identify three key strategies that could serve to sustain Community Health Workers as volunteers in a health outreach and education program.
• List two possible ways to evaluate the effectiveness of a volunteer CHW outreach program.

Keywords: Community Outreach, Diabetes

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered