Helping Community Health Workers Eliminate Health Disparities

Challenge

The mission of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Community Health Worker Health Disparities Initiative is to help reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities in cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases among underserved and minority communities. This Initiative features a set of science-based, culturally appropriate health education tools for the populations noted above; skill-building opportunities; and sustainable community-based implementation strategies.

Solution

By working with Community Health Workers (CHWs); community-based organizations, health departments, federal agencies working with CHWs, and CHW training and certification programs, Atlas Research (and partner Altarum) are helping NHLBI achieve these goals by:

  • Providing technical assistance;
  • Conducting formative research;
  • Developing a health disparities website;
  • Supporting communities of practice focused on health disparities;
  • Implementing social networking and media strategies;
  • Developing culturally appropriate materials and tools; and
  • Funding and managing demonstration programs.

Result

Atlas is helping NHLBI:

  • Showcase the value and role of CHWs to health care administrators, health professionals, public health officials, researchers, and CHW trainers, and educators;
  • Develop new, and expand existing, partnerships and networks to implement and sustain NHLBI's CHW programs;
  • Implement, evaluate, and sustain effective NHLBI CHW programs; and
  • Build the capacity of CHWs to implement NHLBI's CHW programs.