Community health workers provide education, support, and basic health services to communities, acting as a bridge between patients and healthcare services. They work in isolated rural areas and with low-income populations, immigrants, and minority groups. They require strong community connections and may have formal medical training or be laypeople with basic health knowledge.
A community health worker provides education, support and basic health services to a community, working directly among members of the population. They can provide first-line medical care to people who might not otherwise be able to access healthcare services. Many nations have community health worker programs that provide training for people who want to provide these services, including education in first aid, how to assist with surgical procedures, and related topics. The scope of work may vary depending on the region.
In isolated rural communities, particularly in developing countries, access to health care can be limited. People may not be able to afford travel to a clinic, medical staff may not live nearby, and some may not trust doctors and nurses. A community health worker acts as a bridge. These health professionals are members of the communities in which they work and therefore occupy a position of trusted authority. Patients can contact them for help and they can provide basic care or offer assistance if the patient needs to connect to medical care in another area.
The use of community health workers to deliver care is not limited to the developing world. In developed countries, low-income populations, immigrants and various minority groups may not interact directly with the health care system. Community-based health services can include education, care, and referrals to health agencies and providers that people can benefit from. For example, a community with a high infant mortality rate among low-income women might ask a community health worker to manage an outreach program. This person can provide education, meet with parents at home, refer parents to social services for help, and locate women who need assistance with their children.
On any given day, a community health worker is usually out of the field. The job may require traveling to remote areas to locate people who need assistance. Many need to be bilingual to reach as many people in the community as possible. They can visit people at home, as well as offer classes, visit schools and workplaces to locate potential clients, and assist at medical clinics. Members of a community may feel more comfortable visiting a doctor or nurse with a community health professional they know and trust, and part of the job may involve procedural assistance, translation, and patient advocacy.
Training to become a community health worker can vary depending on the region and the specific type of work involved. Some are qualified as medical personnel, social workers or public health professionals. Others are laypeople who have no formal training other than a workshop provided by a government agency to make them aware of some basic health topics. Strong community connections are essential for this type of work, and agencies often recruit from within a community to fill open positions.
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