Community health worker advocacy study

Community health workers' (CHW) intimate knowledge of the needs of their community places them in a unique position to advocate for large-scale change that could increase social capital and ultimately have a sustainable, community-wide effect on health. Although there is ample evidence of the effectiveness of the CHW model for improving individual health outcomes, little research has been dedicated to examining CHWs' role as individual and community advocates.

A quantitative and qualitative study was conducted with CHWs throughout the state of Arizona in community based organizations, community health centers, and health departments. A 43-question survey and CHW interviews focused on CHW demographics, job setting, prevalence of the various types of advocacy currently being conducted by CHWs, and frequency of participation in leadership and professional trainings. This presentation will explore associations between advocacy and job setting, education, years of CHW experience, and training. Presentation will also include qualitative information from semi-structured interviews with 20 CHWs on experiences with professional training, leadership, advocacy, perception of role, and barriers to advocacy.