Establishing voluntary certification of community health workers in Arizona: a policy case study of building a unified workforce.
Hum Resour Health
; 18(1): 46, 2020 06 26.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32586328
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Community health workers (CHWs) are widely recognized as essential to addressing disparities in health care delivery and outcomes in US vulnerable populations. In the state of Arizona, the sustainability of the workforce is threatened by low wages, poor job security, and limited opportunities for training and advancement within the profession. CHW voluntary certification offers an avenue to increase the recognition, compensation, training, and standardization of the workforce. However, passing voluntary certification legislation in an anti-regulatory state such as Arizona posed a major challenge that required a robust advocacy effort. CASE PRESENTATION In this article, we describe the process of unifying the two major CHW workforces in Arizona, promotoras de salud in US-Mexico border communities and community health representatives (CHRs) serving American Indian communities. Differences in the origins, financing, and even language of the population-served contributed to historically divergent interests between CHRs and promotoras. In order to move forward as a collective workforce, it was imperative to integrate the perspectives of CHRs, who have a regular funding stream and work closely through the Indian Health Services, with those of promotoras, who are more likely to be grant-funded in community-based efforts. As a unified workforce, CHWs were better positioned to gain advocacy support from key health care providers and health insurance companies with policy influence. We seek to elucidate the lessons learned in our process that may be relevant to CHWs representing diverse communities across the US and internationally.CONCLUSIONS:
Legislated voluntary certification provides a pathway for further professionalization of the CHW workforce by establishing a standard definition and set of core competencies. Voluntary certification also provides guidance to organizations in developing appropriate training and job activities, as well as ongoing professional development opportunities. In developing certification with CHWs representing different populations, and in particular Tribal Nations, it is essential to assure that the CHW definition is in alignment with all groups and that the scope of practice reflects CHW roles in both clinic and community-based settings. The Arizona experience underscores the benefits of a flexible approach that leverages existing strengths in organizations and the population served.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Certificación
/
Agentes Comunitarios de Salud
/
Servicios de Salud del Indígena
Tipo de estudio:
Guideline
/
Prognostic_studies
Límite:
Humans
País/Región como asunto:
Mexico
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Hum Resour Health
Año:
2020
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Estados Unidos