Screening, support, and slashing stigma: Preparing community health workers to address behavioral health in primary care

Introduction:  Community health workers (CHWs) are a unique class of frontline public health practitioners who provide support for a myriad of common health and social issues, often in the context of team-based care. CHWs’ ability to relate to clients may make them invaluable assets in primary care settings, where individuals with highly stigmatized behavioral disorders such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse often present.  However, little is known about how to prepare CHWs to address behavioral health as members of primary care teams.  Methods:  In partnership with CHWs, we developed a 48-hour curriculum to train experienced CHWs in how to address behavioral health in primary care settings.  This free, publicly available curriculum focused on communication skills and conducting screening, brief interventions, and referrals to treatment for common behavioral health issues.  We trained 12 CHWs who now work at primary care sites in three states.  We conducted in-person, audio-recorded interviews with CHWs and other care team members to explore perceptions of the curriculum and CHW-care team integration.  Transcripts of interviews were independently coded and reviewed by two researchers.  Results:  This interactive presentation featuring a CHW who has implemented this model will include a demonstration how CHWs can conduct behavioral health screenings, tips for training CHWs to use this curriculum, and findings from interviews with CHWs and clinical providers on successes and challenges of this model.   Conclusions:   We created a well-received curriculum for experienced CHWs that facilitates integration of behavioral health-focused CHWs into primary care settings.