Building the capacity of community health workers to deliver eye health information: Results of a national training effort

Diabetes affects nearly 26 million people in the United States. Another 79 million people are estimated to have prediabetes. People with diabetes are at higher risk for diabetic eye disease, a leading cause of vision loss and blindness. Recent National Eye Institute statistics show there has been a 150 percent increase in diabetic retinopathy cases among Hispanics/Latinos in the past decade, and cases are expected to double by 2030.

The National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) launched the Diabetes and Healthy Eyes Toolkit in 2010 to enhance diabetes education programs with culturally and linguistically appropriate eye health educational resources. The toolkit helps community health workers (CHWs) educate their communities about diabetic eye disease and maintaining healthy vision.

To build capacity in disseminating and promoting eye health messages at the community level, NEHEP developed a workshop that trains CHWs to use the toolkit. NEHEP developed a 90-minute training workshop based on adult pedagogy. The workshop uses participatory methods to introduce participants to the toolkit and explore its content.

As of January 2014, 384 CHWs have been trained in English and Spanish. The results of these workshops have been measured through pre and post-tests and evaluation forms, which show increased levels of knowledge, high levels of satisfaction with the training and toolkit, and applicability of the content to local communities.

Training CHWs to use culturally appropriate resources such as the Diabetes and Healthy Eyes Toolkit can help advance Hispanic/Latino health and address the high rates of visual impairment among this population.