CHW trainings help Community Health Workers assist Miami's diverse immigrant communities in accessing health care

Miami is home to one of the nation's most ethnically diverse communities. Its immigrant populations speak a variety of languages and come with a diverse set of cultural and social traditions and behaviors. As such, one of the challenges Community Health Workers (CHWs) face in linking these communities with health care and education is overcoming language barriers and understanding how culture influences human behavior and attitudes. Community Voices Miami's CHW Training Curriculum addresses four core competencies including Confidentiality, Sensitivity/Competence, Advocacy and Empowerment, and is designed to train CHWs to effectively operate in different cultural settings. For example, CHWs learn how to apply a culturally-competent model of decision-making when confronting difficult situations involving ethical and legal dilemmas. CHWs also learn how to accept and embrace differences and similarities in culture, ethnicity, social class, and education in order to work more effectively in communicating with and educating immigrant children and families about their health, in building a dynamic relationship with their clients, and in linking them to the appropriate health care services. These trainings involve formal classroom training, the Florida Family Development Credentialing certification courses, informational presentations, team work, working with a field advisor, developing a portfolio, and field experience, among other things. CHWs will discuss how Miami-Dade County's CHW Project curriculum trainings have helped prepare CHWs with the tools and support to overcome their obstacles and to perform effective outreach and advocacy in order to empower Miami's diverse immigrant population in accessing health care services, public benefits, and other social services.