Community Health Worker

Community Health Worker
Taxonomy Code 172V00000X

Classification: Community Health Worker

Quick Links : Map of Community Health Workers per State | Number of Community Health Workers per State

Description

Community health workers (CHW) are lay members of communities who work either for pay or as volunteers in association with the local health care system in both urban and rural environments and usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status and life experiences with the community members they serve. They have been identified by many titles such as community health advisors, lay health advocates, promotores(as), outreach educators, community health representatives, peer health promoters, and peer health educators. CHWs offer interpretation and translation services, provide culturally appropriate health education and information, assist people in receiving the care they need, give informal counseling and guidance on health behaviors, advocate for individual and community health needs, and provide some direct services such as first aid and blood pressure screening. Some examples of these practitioners are Community Health Aides or Practitioners established under 25 USC 1616 (l) under HHS, Indian Health Service, Public Health Service.

Notes

Source: Health Resources and Services Administration, US Department of Health and Human Services - National Workforce Study on Community Health Workers, March, 2007. [7/1/2007: new]

http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/chw/

Volume numbers are based on primary as well as secondary taxonomy codes of Providers.