Background: Home visitation programs (HVPs) have demonstrated effectiveness in reducing child maltreatment, improving infant health, promoting positive parenting, and enhancing school readiness. To make HVPs more accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of families, innovations are essential. Community health workers (CHWs) can play a pivotal role in driving these innovations; therefore, our CHW colleagues are invaluable contributors to the work that made these programs possible.

Methods: We conducted a descriptive analysis of two new brief HVPs delivered by CHWs to support pregnant and early postpartum participants recruited from two different settings: community-based obstetric clinics (upREACH) and a high-risk obstetric clinic (upREACH+). upREACH is delivered by CHWs, while upREACH+ is delivered by a multidisciplinary CHW/Nurse team. Both programs are located in Harris County, Texas. Data for this abstract were collected between February 2024 and March 2025.

Results: There were 107 participants in upREACH and 124 in upREACH+. Both programs predominantly served Hispanic women (68% and 79%, respectively) with government-funded health coverage (65% and 77%). At program entry, over one-quarter of upREACH participants reported food insecurity (26%) and housing insecurity (27%), while almost a third of upREACH+ participants reported higher rates of housing insecurity (31%) and food insecurity (47%). A fifth of upREACH participants (21%) screened positive for perinatal depression symptoms at baseline, compared to only 4% of upREACH+ participants. Half of the upREACH participants were referred to the high-risk obstetric clinic for medical complications during their pregnancy. Both programs showed statistically significant improvements from baseline to 2-months postpartum in perinatal depression symptoms (p<.05) and protective factors subscales, including social and concrete support (p<0.05) and nurturing and bonding (p<.001). Both programs had high percentages of participants attending at least one postpartum visit with their obstetric provider (87% and 77%, respectively) and well-child checks with pediatricians (82% and 81%). However, upREACH+ had a higher percentage of participants (74%) successfully connect to community referrals for basic needs and medical care support compared to upREACH (51%).

Conclusions: Both upREACH and upREACH+ show promising outcomes for perinatal wellbeing. Higher risk upREACH participants referred to the high-risk obstetric clinic for medical complications during pregnancy may have benefited from the multidisciplinary CHW/Nurse team support in upREACH+. A brief HVP where CHWs collaborate with nurses to support pregnant and early postpartum women with high-risk, medically complicated pregnancies could be a promising model of cost-effective and impactful care.

The Safer Nights initiative, led by the the Nevada Department of Public and Behavioral Health and the Larson Institute at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Public Health, reimagines how and where public health work happens. By recruiting and training musicians, DJs, and nightlife workers as Community Health Workers (CHWs), the program brings overdose prevention and harm reduction education into clubs, music venues, and social spaces—settings where many high-risk individuals gather but may never access traditional health services.

This CHW-led model centers equity, creativity, and peer trust. Our CHW colleagues—who reflect the diverse communities they serve—distribute fentanyl test strips, educate peers on overdose prevention, and normalize harm reduction through casual interactions, live events, and street outreach. Their presence helps de-stigmatize drug use and create safety in environments often overlooked by public health.

Safer Nights currently supports dozens of venues across Nevada, restocking fentanyl test kits and providing Naloxone kits. CHWs use a custom-built AppSheet mobile platform to log business visits, kit distribution, incident reports, and communication. This real-time data enhances coordination, supports evaluation, and informs community-driven resource allocation.

Public health messaging is amplified through a comprehensive media bilingual campaigns on social and traditional media. The initiative also partners with researchers, city governments, and venue owners to expand impact and advocate for sustainable funding.

Safer Nights aligns with the APHA 2025 theme by prioritizing community-based care and re-centering public health around the people it aims to serve. The program offers a scalable model for workforce development, peer education, and equity-focused harm reduction.

This presentation will include interactive components featuring storytelling from CHWs, a brief demonstration of the AppSheet tool, and examples of public messaging—encouraging discussion around how public health systems can integrate non-traditional CHW pathways.

Background: Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are leading public health concerns, disproportionately affecting underserved populations with limited healthcare access. The University of Arizona Mobile Health Unit (MHU) was created in 2016 by the Mexico Section of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission to address health disparities by providing free preventative health screenings. Initially established in Phoenix, the MHU expanded to Tucson in 2017, and now delivers services statewide, prioritizing communities that face significant barriers to healthcare including the uninsured, underinsured, Latino, farmworker, and low-income populations.

Methods: The MHU is staffed with community health workers (CHWs) who lead this initiative by providing preventative health screenings and implementing attentive self-care management plans for individuals at risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. Health screenings include blood pressure, blood glucose, and body mass index (BMI) assessments. CHWs review the screening results with the clients providing personalized health education, referrals to low-cost clinics, and chronic disease prevention strategies. CHWs also provide clients without insurance and abnormal screening results with a blood pressure monitor or blood glucose device to encourage self-management before seeking medical care. CHWs train clients on device usage, educate them on result interpretation, and conduct follow-ups at one or three months to ensure they have received care, have continued to adhere to their care plans, and have adopted sustainable health behaviors.

Results: Between January 2024 and February 2025, the MHU served a total of 7,337 people. Among them, 3,416 participants presented with high blood pressure results, yet only 513 had a prior diagnosis of high blood pressure with an established self-management plan. To bridge this gap, CHWs provided referrals to 2,012 people and distributed 200 blood pressure monitors. During the same period, 1,460 participants exhibited high blood glucose levels, prompting the distribution of 100 blood glucose devices to facilitate early intervention.

Conclusions: The findings highlight the critical role of CHWs in empowering underserved populations to manage chronic conditions effectively. Through education, monitoring device distribution, and follow-up care, the MHU enhances access to essential health resources, reinforcing the importance of self-management strategies in reducing preventable complications related to hypertension and diabetes. CHWs not only led the implementation of these efforts but also collaborated in the development of this abstract to accurately reflect their experiences and the impact of their work. Expanding these services can further improve health outcomes across Arizona’s most vulnerable communities.

Background: Underfunded communities lack access to services that are responsive to their lived realities and priorities. From August- December of 2024, AltaMed’s Community Organizing and Research Engagement (CORE) team hosted a series of Community Public Health Pop-up events(Mini-events) in Southeast Los Angeles (SELA). These events were co-designed by two Community Consultants from SELA and emerged as a direct response to the resource connection gaps identified while conducting community outreach. These Mini-Events were designed as neighborhood-based, community-centered public health interventions that established third spaces for residents to directly access direct immediate resources, get connected to public health information and services, and engage in collective activities that fostered community connectivity.

Methods: Through a community-centered approach and participatory project planning methods, the team developed a responsive Mini-Event model that consisted of three phases completed over a span of 2 months. Phase 1: Complete a community landscape analysis to identify locally based resources, build local presence, and build relationships with residents and local stakeholders to inform community priorities and needs. This phase also included deployment of various outreach activities (e.g., door-to-door engagement, event tabling or information sessions with schools, etc). Phase 2: Leverage phase 1 learning to develop mini-event plans, engage event partners and host community mini-event. Phase 3: Re-engage mini-event participants and partners through community-informed evaluation activities and leverage findings to modify mini-event models and inform mini-event community report.

Results: Between August to December 2024, four Mini-Events were hosted, engaging 1,396 community residents and mobilizing 102 grassroots partners. Mini-Events provided: (1) arts and wellness workshops, (2) a space for community connection, (3) awareness around local resources and organizations, (3) financial support to, and promotion of, local micro-entrepreneurs, and (4) distribution of 1,364 tangible resources such as hygiene kits, food boxes, toys, and COVID-19 recovery supplies. Community feedback gathered across all 3 phases contributed to adaptation of Mini-Events to better respond to community needs. Each touchpoint was an opportunity to identify barriers to participation and to reduce these barriers.

Conclusion: The Mini-Events model transcends traditional service delivery models - it offers a powerful, replicable, and scalable model of community engagement that centers community ownership, healing, and relationship building. Mini-Events fostered accessible, trust-based settings that encouraged community residents to access immediate needs and to elevate their community health priorities. Community-centered approaches and strategies are essential for delivering most needed resources, and to build pathways towards equitable public health systems.

Urban communities face a complex web of public health challenges, including pervasive mental health struggles, concerns about personal and community safety, and limited knowledge on how to access to essential social services. The Open Air Connections model effectively reimagined parks as active, accessible hubs for public health engagement. By tapping into the restorative power of nature, the program not only fosters mental and emotional well-being but also directly connects residents to crucial health and social services, providing seamless, on-the-spot care in familiar, non-clinical setting.

From March to May 2024, over 23 days, CHWs interacted with 257 park-goers, facilitating guided compassionate conversations aimed at identifying social, mental and physical health needs. Mental health struggles emerged as the most frequently reported issue, with 59% of 257 park-goers indicating difficulties with emotions and daily functioning. Concerns about community safety were also prominent, affecting 52% of participants, while 47% reported challenges related to substance use and gender identity discrimination. Over the course of the program, CHWs provided a total of 806 referrals—an average of four per participant. The overwhelming success of the program is reflected in the fact that 97% of participants rated it as “helpful” or “extremely helpful,” and 45% engaged in extended conversations with CHWs lasting between 30 - 60 minutes.

This pilot program underscores the transformative power of integrating CHWs into public parks to address critical community health needs. By leveraging green spaces, the program dismantled traditional barriers to care, promoted mental well-being, and offered immediate, direct support within a familiar environment.

In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched the Community Health Workers (CHWs) for COVID Response and Resilient Communities (CCR) initiative. CCR funded state, local, territorial, and tribal recipients across the U.S. to partner with CHWs to address health impacts of COVID-19 and build community resilience.

Evaluators, including CHWs, developed methods aligned with the program’s logic model, with phases of training, deployment, and engagement. CCR recipients submitted performance measure data semi-annually, enumerating training and integration into health organizations. Evaluators conducted cross-sectional surveys with CCR recipient organizations (63) and CHWs funded through this initiative (689).

During the three-year initiative, 3,670 CHWs received training on topics including COVID-19, mental health, and chronic disease prevention, with a focus on CHW core skills. Deployed CHWs were integrated into over 1900 organizations including community-based organizations, health departments, and community health centers. CCR recipients engaged CHWs in addressing health needs including access to healthcare (91.5%), lifestyle interventions (86%), diabetes management (79%), and physical activity promotion (79%). CHWs reported that their activities reflected core CHW roles such as conducting outreach (96.6%), advocating for individuals and communities (96.3%), delivering culturally appropriate health information (95.7%), and providing care coordination (94.5%) in their communities.

CCR emphasized training and job opportunities that leverage unique skills of CHWs to reach their communities, with activities spanning health service delivery and chronic disease management. We will discuss why maintaining a well-supported national CHW workforce is critical for connecting people to the resources that improve health and community resilience, integrating CHW perspectives throughout.

Lupus is a complex, chronic autoimmune disease that disproportionately affects women of color and is often underdiagnosed, leading to delayed treatment and poorer health outcomes. To address longstanding gaps in awareness, education, and access to resources—particularly in underserved communities—the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) has endeavored to equip community health workers with high quality lupus education and resources.

Since establishing its Lupus Community Health Workers (CHWs) Training Program, and in-person, localized training curriculum, in 2021, the LFA responded to the increasing need for flexibility in the delivery of its educational content and more in-depth information and resources with the development of the CHW Lupus Resource Hub (Hub). The Hub was designed as a centralized, user-friendly platform to equip CHWs with tools to increase lupus knowledge in their communities. Grounded in direct input from CHWs, the Hub includes on-demand training modules, printable education materials, and patient self-management tools. The platform bridges the gap between clinical care and community engagement by supporting CHWs in their roles as trusted, frontline educators and connectors to care.

Since its launch, more than 3,600 CHWs have been trained using a combination of in-person sessions and digital resources housed within the Hub. The resource has been widely disseminated through national networks, conferences, and social media, with ongoing efforts to track utilization and gather user feedback. The Hub represents a scalable and sustainable approach to addressing disparities in lupus education and care, ultimately aiming to reduce time to diagnosis and improve health outcomes for those most at risk.

Background: COVID-19 testing is an important strategy to curtail the spread of SARS-CoV-2. During the pandemic, interventions were essential for promotion of COVID-19 home self-sampling test kits and to build confidence in test utilization. We created two unique community health worker (CHW) delivered interventions to test in three regions of Texas.

Methods: We conducted a community-based three-arm controlled trial among 850 adults to test two unique interventions versus a control group. We evaluated the proportion of COVID-19 testing uptake in the last 60 days at follow-up among participants, regardless of testing behavior at baseline, by study arm.

Results: The study participants (N=850) were mostly Hispanic (59.6%), females (66%), with a mean age of 48 years. The participants in both intervention groups experienced an increase in testing uptake in the past 60 days compared to the control group. Based on univariable logistic regression analysis, we found a statistically significant increase in proportion of COVID-19 testing between the facilitated self-sampling intervention (FSSI) versus control group (AOR= 1.71; p= 0.03) and a marginally significant increase between the testing navigation intervention (TNI) versus control group (AOR= 1.49; p= 0.09).

Conclusion: Across the 3 study regions, the greatest increase in the proportion of COVID-19 testing behavior was seen in the FSSI group (intervention that provides testing kits and behavioral education), followed by the TNI group (intervention that provides behavioral education and navigation to testing sites) and the least change was seen among the control group.

Background: Persistent chronic disease inequities and recognition of social and mental health as foundational to chronic disease self-management necessitate more strategic approaches to public health education and health promotion. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are poised to lead healthy lifestyle programming due to their lived experience, familiarity with community context, and trusted insight.

Methods: Leveraging an established community-based participatory research partnership of 12 academic, community, and healthcare organizations, our team integrated best practices from three successful health promotion programs to create Health Impact 360 (HI360). HI360 is a 20-week CHW-led program designed to increase social support, address mental health / reduce stress, and improve cardiovascular health indices among adults (n=328) at elevated risk for cardiovascular disease. Sessions have two parts: (1) activities and discussion on health behavior-related planning, problem solving, and community leadership and advocacy, and (2) group-based physical activity (walking). Eight sessions include culinary and nutrition skill-building and fellowship during group-prepared meals. Our overall aim is to assess the implementation and impact of HI360 via an ongoing randomized trial in two Michigan cities: Detroit and Flint.

Results: Results will focus on lessons learned in co-designing and launching HI360, including explicit examination of the CHWs’ role in refining program materials, interrogating study plans, and informing how the team builds on existing community knowledge and assets to balance rigor and fidelity with authenticity and impact.

Conclusions: HI360 demonstrates the promise of engaging CHWs not only as facilitators of interdisciplinary public health programming, but as equal partners in program design, preparation, and evaluation.

To tackle disparities in chronic disease and health status, we describe how a rural county health department adapted a Community Health Worker (CHW) Community Clinical Linkage research study (LINKS/UNIDOS) and supported CHW professional development to improve internal capacity for referral and resource linkage in Yuma County, Arizona. In 2021, Yuma County Public Health Services District (YCPHSD) launched the CONECTATE program (CONNECT in English), working closely with CHWs and evaluators to build and enhance a case management system comprised of data collection instruments and referral databases. In partnership with Campesinos Sin Fronteras, a nonprofit that works with farmworkers and border communities in Yuma County, outreach efforts were tailored to target community members most affected by Covid-19 and chronic diseases. Once enrolled in CONECTATE, CHWs identify program participant needs through chronic disease, Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and mental and behavioral health screenings and work with participants to access social and health services in their community. As needed, participants are enrolled in evidence-based educational classes for diabetes and chronic disease self-management programs. CONECTATE provides an example of how to adapt and translate successful research programs in rural counties despite, and amidst, funding challenges and health crises. In this session we will describe results covering three years of the CONECTATE program and its continued work to enhance community resilience through CHW workforce development. We will discuss challenges, successes and lessons learned in addressing chronic disease and social connectedness through the adaptation and improvement of screening tools and the utilization of community-based approaches.