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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
APHA 2005
 
5188.0: Wednesday, December 14, 2005 - 2:48 PM

Abstract #110680

Community Health Worker (CHW) certification and training: A national survey

Marlynn May, PhD, School of Rural Public Health, Texas A&M University, 1103 University Drive, Suite 200, College Station, TX 77840, (979) 458-1328, marlynn@tamu.edu

The current literature on CHWs contains no systematic, national overview appraising the nature and extent of state supported CHW certification and training in the U.S.. To address this, the Texas A&M Southwest Rural Health Research Center conducted a survey of fifty U.S. states to measure the extent and nature of CHW training and certification programs. The survey identified states with broad-based, state supported CHW certification and training programs. Program selection was based on six criteria designed to include into the study programs with a regional or greater scope, and state support and involvement. Seventeen states were identified, three with state sanctioned training and certification programs and fourteen with state supported systematic training-only programs. Telephone interviews were conducted with key personnel in each of the seventeen states. Interview topics included questions regarding program goals and foci, the populations served, program history and development, the administrative and program structure and organization. Findings detail program scope and goals, service objectives, target populations served, structure and content of training curricula and certification requirements, trainer qualifications, funding bases, modes of evaluation and identify diverse stakeholder rationales for why certification is important for the future. Policy implications are discussed. Participants will be able to identify and articulate the characteristics of CHW certification, take away a perspective on why certification and training are important for different stakeholders, and evaluate their own CHW training and certification in the context of others' programs in the U.S.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Community Health Planning, Community-Based Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

[ Recorded presentation ] Recorded presentation

The Community as Partner in Health Education

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA