Community Health Workers: Mobilizing and Organizing the Filipino Community as Agents of Social Change

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) are widely used to provide care for a broad range of health issues. However, in the course of delivery, they are not limited to addressing just health but that which affects the rights and welfare of their community both in the U.S. and in their home country. As inherent community organizers and builders, CHWs also operate within the context of community change, mobilizing communities to combat injustices caused by socioeconomic or socio-political factors to create systemic changes. Methods: Project AsPIRE, an NIH-sponsored community-university partnership, provides culturally- and linguistically-appropriate CHW interventions to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve health access for Filipino Americans. Through community organizing and mobilization, the CHWs developed and leveraged their relationships with multiple sectors to build social cohesion and raise critical consciousness about not only heart health, but immigration issues, healthcare reform, and other issues impacting Filipinos in the U.S. and the Philippines. Results and Discussion: Project AsPIRE CHWs will develop and conduct a presentation about: 1) Strategies in mobilizing multiple sectors (i.e. community and faith-based organizations, businesses, health providers, students) to respond to identified community issues, concerns, and needs; 2) Advocacy strategies applied to the individual and systems level, locally, nationally and globally; and 3) Case studies demonstrating the interconnection between the CHWs' role as health care providers and agents of change combating social injustices. Examples include mobilizing community members to advocate for healthcare reform; respond to a natural disaster, and advocate for the rights of domestic workers.