Harris County communities are disproportionately affected by significant gaps in healthcare access. For example, 1 in 4 adults do not have health insurance and 1 in 5 people cannot afford medical care. The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated existing disparities, placing historically underserved populations at greater risk for poor health outcomes. To create unified messaging, uplift communities through a health for all lens, and improve the awareness and utilization of Harris County Public Health (HCPH) services and programs, HCPH implemented a centralized outreach model ensuring equitable access to health education, resources, and services across 16 diverse public health programs. This model is driven by Community Health Workers (CHWs), who serve as trusted connectors between the community and public health services.

HCPH utilizes data-driven methods identifying socially vulnerable populations and those most in need of services, ensuring targeted approaches and greater utilization of HCPH services. Centralization, our “no wrong door” approach to streamlining outreach and education for all HCPH programs and services, ensures CHWs are well-equipped and trained with the knowledge of HCPH programs and services and emerging diseases. By analyzing key performance indicators and collecting qualitative data, CHWs assess community needs, identify underutilized services, and implement targeted outreach activities. As an example, CHWs build trust throughout Harris County by establishing partnerships, meeting the community where they are, and securing linkages (referrals) to HCPH programs. These "secured linkages" provide community members with direct access to HCPH programs or services. This approach reduces follow-up gaps and enhances service utilization by ensuring that any point of contact leads to the support needed.

The relationship between CHWs and HCPH program representatives are continuously evaluated through feedback meetings evaluating the success of collaborative efforts. Strategies are developed, CHWs are trained, utilize their skills to create outreach activities, and foster partnerships with local organizations. This strategy enables efficient coordination across multiple programs while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to emerging health challenges such as mpox or COVID-19. Through health promotion and data-driven efforts, centralization has strengthened our ability to reduce health disparities and support vulnerable populations with the trust gained between public health systems and the community. In 2024, our team successfully increased community engagement, reaching 40,260 people while securing 2,235 linkages for HCPH programs. The impact of our model is highlighted by increased utilization and firsthand testimonials from community members who have benefited from CHW-led interventions.

This abstract was fully written by CHWs.