Centering the role of community health workers in social risk screening, referral, and follow-up within the primary care setting.
BMC Prim Care
; 25(1): 338, 2024 Sep 13.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39271996
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Community health workers (CHWs) remain an underutilized resource in social risk diagnostics in the primary care setting. This process evaluation study seeks to assess the role of CHWs in social risk screening, referral, and follow-up through process mapping to identify barriers to the process for future quality improvement efforts.METHODS:
Researchers at the Arizona Prevention Research Center (AzPRC) engaged with two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in two of Arizona's major urban areas to evaluate their internal processes for social risk screening and intervention. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) was used to direct a process mapping exercise to visually describe the workflow, gaps, and barriers to identifying and addressing social risk.RESULTS:
The process unveiled key areas for health system improvements in the community setting, the organizational setting, and in the implementation of social risk screening, referral, and follow-up. Further, process maps highlight the potential resources needed for effective CHW integration to address social risk in the primary care setting.CONCLUSIONS:
Our findings demonstrate the importance of organizational tools, such as process mapping, to assist primary care settings in evaluating internal processes for quality improvement in addressing social risk and in effectively integrating the CHW workforce. Subsequent research will evaluate rates of social risk screening, referral, and follow-up within all of Arizona's FQHCs and propose models for CHW integration to address social risk in primary care and strengthen social risk screening reach and effectiveness.Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Banco de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Atención Primaria de Salud
/
Derivación y Consulta
/
Agentes Comunitarios de Salud
Límite:
Humans
País como asunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article