Community Health Worker Section: Past, Present, and Future

The APHA CHW Section, known just a decade ago as the New Professional Special Primary Interest Group, is a vital part of the APHA since CHWs are a vital part of the public health workforce.  In this hybrid panel-roundtable session, opening presenters will examine how the CHW Section has grown within APHA including the development of CHW leadership in pivotal roles within the Section. Expanding within APHA has required Section leadership to think critically about ways to increase the relevance and viability of membership in APHA for frontline members of the public health workforce in this national association.   The presentations will also explore how a professional association affiliation has allowed individual Section members to collaborate as advocates, supporting growth of the CHW field throughout the U.S.   Then, roundtable facilitators, long-term Section veterans, will lead roundtable discussions exploring how the CHW Section can respond to contemporary opportunities and challenges within the field in the U.S. and abroad.  This session will feature presenters, both CHWs and CHW allies, who have worked over a two decades to build the Section.  Members from the Section and other APHA members are invited to participate in shaping the course for future areas of focus and action for the Section.    Based on past experience – collaborative planning can position members of the CHW Section to work collectively to increase the role and presence of CHWs within APHA and most importantly, to strengthen the contributions of the Section to   promote health equity, overall.