Community health worker (CHW) programs face a number of new realities - intensified competition for limited dollars, heightened expectations for performance reporting, vulnerability to political attack, as well as opportunities for new partnerships with providers and managed care organizations. To survive and thrive in this environment, CHW programs must be able to demonstrate their value to multiple audiences. Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) is one way to show funders, government agencies, managed care organizations (MCOs), and others that a program is effective. Because CBA includes both the benefits to a community and the costs of providing those benefits, this type of analysis is becoming more widely used. Its appeal extends to both grantmakers and commercial organizations, such as MCOs, with which CHW programs are increasingly partnering. This paper reports on a Cost-Benefit Analysis Primer that was developed as part of the CHW Evaluation Toolkit Project, conducted by the University of Arizona, Rural Health Office, and sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. It builds on the work published in The National Community Health Advisor Study in June 1998 and incorporates research conducted with CHW programs and funding organizations to identify appropriate CBA methods.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will understand the fundamentals of cost-benefit analysis (CBA), will be able to apply CBA techniques in order to demonstrate the value of CHW programs, and will be able to articulate policy issues related to CHW funding and performance measurement
Keywords: Performance Measurement, Cost Issues
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: University of Arizona (consultant)