Integrating Community Health Workers into multidisciplinary teams: Gaining community access and insight while imroving inter professional education

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential in complex health systems. They eliminate cultural barriers, maximize adherence to clinical directives, promote health and assist with patient navigation.

Health care provider education (physicians, nurses, physical therapists and others) typically occurs in isolated clinical settings, not within the communities to be served. Their isolated training sets the stage for highly technical, disease specific remedies.

This community-based inter professional education collaboration consists of Community Health Workers, Physicians, Nurses, Physical and Respiratory Therapist students. Operating within housing complex community-based Health Houses, students and faculty collaborate. CHWs are at each team’s nucleus, leading them to identify problems and create culturally acceptable solutions. There is no hierarchy, teammates share equally in developing programs that address community health needs.

CHWs in this system come from the community and reside there. A nurse managed command center in each housing complex is directed by a locally elected Community Advisory Board. Nurses oversee all activities of health care delivery, wellness, and navigation within the system.  CHWs educate the community (individually and in small groups) on the merits of medical remedies and help facilitate care delivery and compliance with medical directives.  

The introduction of these multidisciplinary teams has improved inter professional learning through enhanced dialogue with the community served. CHWs have greatly improved the health care team’s understanding of the community’s needs, improved health care, wellness activities, patient compliance and enhanced the team’s inter professional learning. CHWs bring unique perspectives to the team building trusting relationships and reducing barriers to wellness.