BARHII’s Post

As we begin a new month, it's important to continue our discussion on the top challenges facing community health practices. Today, we're focusing on community engagement, which is vital but can also be quite challenging. According to community members, lack of awareness, limited access to services, language and cultural barriers, stigma, socioeconomic factors, and trust issues are the leading factors impacting engagement. These factors directly or indirectly intersect with social disparities of health, making it crucial for community practices to understand their patient population and associated barriers to maintaining health. Community outreach activities can be valuable in breaking down barriers, providing resources and education, and establishing relationships between provider organizations and communities. For small and rural communities, where there is typically only one healthcare option, it's critical for the local practice to be seen as a community partner. Unfortunately, financial pressures and recruitment challenges negatively impact community practices, making sustainability difficult in these areas. In fact, most community healthcare practices today, including clinics and hospitals, struggle to maintain positive operating margins. The lesson here is clear: know your patient population, understand what disparities may exist that hinder engagement, and design interventions and delivery channels that best align with the population. By doing so, community practices can establish trust, build relationships, and ultimately improve health outcomes for their communities. Addition read on this subject: https://lnkd.in/gBAiUdqE

Somava Saha, very comprehensive and thoughtful plan for fully leveraging and sustaining the talents of CHWs. This is critical work as we more fully acknowledge the impact of HRSNs and health equity on health outcomes. Used properly, CHWs are an indispensable tool in population health equity. Thanks for you long-standing leadership in promoting the CHW role, Soma. It just makes sense.

For those of you who have been following our work on Pathways to Population Health Equity, one beautiful outcome of applying that framework in Rhode Island has been the recognition of the full scope of the #CHW role in building bridges between clinical and community environments to create upstream investments in population and community health. Drawn from communities closest to the challenges, these natural civic connectors, who skilled at relationships and navigation but can also be trustworthy and effective leaders of clinical-community coalitions and partnerships to address upstream community conditions like housing availability and tenant rights and root causes like racial inequities in the environment. In this week's issue of NEJM Group, we share how this led to a roadmapping process among 140 CHWs and allies about how to sustain the role with braided and blended funding and describe the process. The four roadmaps developed to sustain the role of CHWs were about: 1) Growing the role, agency, and leadership of community health workers 2) Workforce development for CHWs and their supervisors 3) Payment and sustainability 4) People and place-based coordinating infrastructure The full roadmaps can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eND39AEU A year after implementation, there remained strong engagement and support for the implementation within the state and advancement of key functions to support CHWs. More remains to be done to align funding for long-term sustainability. https://lnkd.in/eXvNvsEx Special appreciation to co-authors and co-leaders in this process, Swanette Salazar Geraldine McPhee, Deborah Garneau and many others including James Day, Linda Cabral, Kristen Rego, Michelle Mooney, Michelle Abuna, Jonathan Scaccia and our whole team at Well-being and Equity (WE) in the World who supported this roadmapping process and contributed to building CHW leadership along the way, including Hilda Ortiz, Sarai Arpero at Latino Health Access and Kevin Barnett at CACHE #equity #healthequity #populationhealth #civicmuscle #vitalconditions #P2PHE Durrell Fox

For those of you who have been following our work on Pathways to Population Health Equity, one beautiful outcome of applying that framework in Rhode Island has been the recognition of the full scope of the #CHW role in building bridges between clinical and community environments to create upstream investments in population and community health. Drawn from communities closest to the challenges, these natural civic connectors, who skilled at relationships and navigation but can also be trustworthy and effective leaders of clinical-community coalitions and partnerships to address upstream community conditions like housing availability and tenant rights and root causes like racial inequities in the environment. In this week's issue of NEJM Group, we share how this led to a roadmapping process among 140 CHWs and allies about how to sustain the role with braided and blended funding and describe the process. The four roadmaps developed to sustain the role of CHWs were about: 1) Growing the role, agency, and leadership of community health workers 2) Workforce development for CHWs and their supervisors 3) Payment and sustainability 4) People and place-based coordinating infrastructure The full roadmaps can be found here: https://lnkd.in/eND39AEU A year after implementation, there remained strong engagement and support for the implementation within the state and advancement of key functions to support CHWs. More remains to be done to align funding for long-term sustainability. https://lnkd.in/eXvNvsEx Special appreciation to co-authors and co-leaders in this process, Swanette Salazar Geraldine McPhee, Deborah Garneau and many others including James Day, Linda Cabral, Kristen Rego, Michelle Mooney, Michelle Abuna, Jonathan Scaccia and our whole team at Well-being and Equity (WE) in the World who supported this roadmapping process and contributed to building CHW leadership along the way, including Hilda Ortiz, Sarai Arpero at Latino Health Access and Kevin Barnett at CACHE #equity #healthequity #populationhealth #civicmuscle #vitalconditions #P2PHE Durrell Fox

🚀 Community Health Workers (CHWs) are breaking barriers to healthcare access. This article from Tufts University highlights the critical role CHWs play in connecting underserved populations to essential healthcare services. By addressing both clinical and social needs, CHWs are improving health outcomes in communities nationwide. 🏥 Learn how CHWs are reshaping access to care. https://hubs.la/Q02PRQvT0 #CommunityHealth #CHWs #HealthcareAccess #SDoH #CareCoordination

Community engagement is all the rage in healthcare, but do you know how to do it effectively? Learn how organizations can engage members of the communities they serve to build trust, advance health equity, and improve care outcomes in a new report from INSPIRE. It’s a roadmap for how organizations can go beyond inviting the community to the table toward learning how to build the table from the ground up together. Stay tuned for more tools coming out over the next year from the INSPIRE team, that will help translate the recommendations in this roadmap into action. https://lnkd.in/empWV4kt

In the U.S., zip code is a powerful indicator of life expectancy and quality of life. For example, in Indianapolis, there's a nearly 17-year difference in life expectancy between the suburbs and the urban core, just 17 miles apart. Despite medical advances, health inequities persist due to social determinants of health (SDOH) like economic status, race, access to healthcare, education, transportation, food, and housing security. Addressing SDOH is crucial for health equity, a priority highlighted by the pandemic. Community Health Workers on the Frontlines of SDOH: Community health workers (CHWs) are essential to addressing SDOH. They are frontline health workers from the communities they serve, making them effective in understanding and addressing local health barriers such as language, health literacy, social isolation, and access to resources. Studies show that CHW programs improve outcomes and lower healthcare costs, yielding significant savings — up to $2.47 for every $1 invested, according to a CMS study. https://lnkd.in/gD5RcRpc.

A new strategy will guide work over the next five years to support 460+ #ChildAndFamilyHubs 🌈 across Australia 📑 https://bit.ly/3Ak1qAr #Hubs provide a local, welcoming ‘front door’ for families to access the care they need, all in one place. At Hubs, families connect with services and support in health, education and social care. Families can also build new social connections at their local Hubs. The #NationalChildAndFamilyHubsNetwork unites service providers, community-based organisations, advocates, researchers and policymakers to build the capacity of Hubs. Following strategy consultation with a diverse cross-section from 950+ members, the Network has identified six priority areas for action:  ⭐ Invest in the National Child and Family Hubs Network ⭐ Secure long-term funding to support Hubs ⭐ Build workforce capability and culture ⭐ Use evidence to inform Hub implementation and evaluation ⭐ Develop and implement an advocacy plan ⭐ Partner with, learn from and support Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations The Network is collaborating with the many organisations working in Hubs settings and people attending Hubs to bring the strategy to life. Read the strategy and learn more about Hubs at https://lnkd.in/g7UpkywY The Network acknowledges the support of the The Ian Potter Foundation, ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course (Life Course Centre) and Children's Health Queensland Hospital and Health Service. In case you missed it, our recent Setting up Child and Family Hubs webinar recording is now available to watch and share. The discussion featured practitioner perspectives on co-design and #implementation, as well as some great questions from audience members. 💻 https://bit.ly/3XXDFb6 Suzy Honisett Sharon Goldfeld AM Sydney Local Health District Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) The Royal Children's Hospital Sydney Partnership for Health, Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE) Telethon Kids Institute ARACY Social Ventures Australia Anne Hollonds SNAICC - National Voice for our Children Karitane Our Place

Very exciting to see this report on effective Community Engagement (CE) to advance patient-centered, equitable health care! Kudos to Camden Coalition for developing this report and funders RWJF, CHCF, and The Scan Foundation for supporting it. The overarching premise that CE is something with a lot of energy behind it, but is actually hard to do well, resonates with me. It makes me think about our work at Learning for Action with a St. Louis based organization Generate Health STL that very effectively creates spaces to engage community in advancing Black maternal and child health. We conducted interviews to learn more about what helps make CE effective and what it requires of health care systems and institutions to authentically invite and leverage community voice to advance health equity. Below are a few of the things we heard that align with findings in this report: - Leadership support is critical. And that support cannot be in name only. A real commitment and investment in CE from organizational leaders is key to ensuring that organizational staff are primed and able to listen, and act in response to community input. - CE is not a one and done. It requires relationship building, trust, and is not a one time thing. Building spaces where health care organizations can engage people most directly impacted in their efforts to enhance quality and access on an ongoing basis requires more than a survey or a one time input forum. - Effective community engagement requires some preparation for all involved. Organizations, leaders, and staff seeking community voice, and the community leaders and people with lived experience sharing their perspectives. Absent that preparation conversations can feel like two opposing sides that are not connecting on the same page. Some thoughtful facilitation, and preparation, with awareness and attention to identity and power dynamics can create spaces for more meaningful and non-harmful interactions between health care systems and community. Wonderful to see this roadmap laying out some strategies and best practices. I'm eager to hear what others are learning and seeing about what makes for effective community engagement in health equity work? In particular, I'm eager to learn more about the role that healthcare funding plays. Dollars drive many of the policies, practices, and decisions that impact care, and most of the healthcare dollars from in the form of reimbursable services. (One reason dedicated resources for CE work are so essential!!) What are levers that initatives, philanthropy, or local leaders are using to ensure that financial drivers are driving in the right way to help healthcare organizations better align services with the needs and priorities of community? ttps://

Join the UH Community Health Workers Initiative at no cost for their conference, Where are we driving? Changing the Map for Non-medical Drivers of Health, on May 10, 2024. The conference aims to discuss the future role of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in public health as catalysts for positive change in an ever-changing healthcare landscape. CHWs are a crucial workforce for building intersections between community, social, and clinical institutions and supporting communities in navigating non-medical social drivers of health. https://lnkd.in/ef3qc6Ca