Community Health Workers in the Midwest: Understanding and Developing the Workforce

To support efforts to build Community Health Workers into a sustainable component of the health care system, the American Cancer Society- Midwest Division contracted with Wilder Research to conduct a needs assessment and return on investment study. The assessment included interviews with 23 key informants and a survey of 245 community health workers in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Key informants reported a variety of barriers and challenges in supporting community health workers and integrating them into the health care system. The valuable role community health workers play in their communities was demonstrated by higher rates of satisfaction among Health Home Care workers and increased clinic visits by community members. (Abstractor: Website Staff)

Authors made the following recommendations: • “Educate health care providers about the roles and value of Community Health Workers” (p.4). • “Address funding and reimbursement challenges with Community Health Workers and their allies” (p.4). • “Invest in further professional development to move the Community Health Worker field forward” (p.4). • “Implement certificate programs in Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Iowa using Minnesota’s model as a guide” (p.4). (Abstractor: Author)

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2012
• Author(s): Hardeman, Rachel; Gerrard, Michelle Decker
• Organizational Author(s): Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
• Funding Source: American Cancer Society
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Melissa Mack
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies