Changing the traditional medical model of care to expand the CHW role in developing a cervical health screening program

As current health care shifts from the traditional medical model toward team-based care, community health workers’ role in these teams is crucial to addressing patients’ health needs – specifically regarding cervical cancer screenings.

Despite reduced cervical cancer incidence over the past 30 years – according to the American Cancer Society — Latina, African American and Asian/Pacific Islanders are more likely to be diagnosed. Ravenswood Family Health Center – a federally qualified community health center in East Palo Alto, California – faced limitations in providing adequate cervical health care due to lack of patient registries and recall systems. Consequently, RFHC centralized its cervical health program around CHWs by expanding their role to include case management, working alongside the team to ensure timely screenings and follow up for patients, and providing patient support. CHWs were trained in health coaching techniques – from assessing barriers patients face in accessing care to their preparedness for undergoing colposcopy. CHW training modules covered logistics of patient registry, recalling patients due for pap smears, and/or follow up for abnormal results.

Based on the Uniform Data Systems’ (UDS) analysis of clinic performance indicators, RFHC’s cervical screening program demonstrates promising results. Screenings increased by approximately 20 percent above the national average from 2011 to 2014 due to the establishment of training, registry, recall systems, and expanded CHW roles.  Moreover, these results demonstrate the merits of integrating CHWs into the medical team.

A CHW will participate in this presentation, and management training modules, protocols, and health coaching scripts will be demonstrated.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Explain how community health workers have been integrated within the traditional medical model to improve cervical screenings. Describe the role of the community health worker in case managing cervical health screenings for patients at a family health center. Compare community health centers’ cervical health screening rates through Uniform Data Systems (UDS) reports. List key deliverables that were developed as tools for the community health worker.

Keyword(s): Cancer Prevention and Screening, Community Health Workers and Promoters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have 8 years of experience in the area of breast and cervical cancer screening and prevention, beginning with the development and implementation of such programs at Ravenswood Family Health Center. I also hold a Master of Public Health, with an emphasis in community health, from San Jose State University.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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