Using community pased participatory approaches to influence system support for community health workers

Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been used successfully nationally and internationally to improve health in underserved communities. CHWs are lay members of communities who work either for pay or as volunteers in association with the local health care system in both urban and rural environments and usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status and life experiences with the community members they serve. The conversation is no longer whether or not the evidence supports this practice, but how to sustain and support these change agents to create an infrastructure that is conducive for widespread impact. This presentation will discuss successful strategies used to sustain and support CHWs working to reduce the risk for developing CVD and diabetes among urban American Indian communities through the Urban Indian Center of Excellence in Eliminating Health Disparities (UICEED) of the CDC's Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH US). Strategies to be presented include connecting CHWs with national training resources such as NHLBIs Honoring the Gift of Heart Health curriculum; engaging organizations employing CHWs in worksite wellness programs such as the American Heart Association's Start, Fit Friendly program; supporting CHW activities through local coalition development and maintenance, increasing communication between CHWs and collaboration between community-based organizations through social networking strategies in order to reduce duplication of effort and fill gaps in services; and offering training and technical assistance opportunities for CHWs.