Community health workers (CHWs) are lay members of the community who work either for pay or as volunteers in association with the local health care system in both urban and rural environments. CHWs usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and life experiences with the community members they serve. They have been identified by many titles, such as community health advisors, lay health advocates, promotoras, outreach educators, community health representatives, peer health promoters, and peer health educators. CHWs offer interpretation and translation services, provide culturally appropriate health education and information, help people get the care they need, give informal counseling and guidance on health behaviors, advocate for individual and community health needs, and provide some direct services such as first aid and blood pressure screening.

Since CHWs typically reside in the community they serve, they have the unique ability to bring information where it is needed most. They can reach community residents where they live, eat, play, work, and worship. CHWs are frontline agents of change, helping to reduce health disparities in underserved communities.

Among the many known outcomes of CHWs’ service are the following:

• Improved access to health care services.
• Increased health and screening.
• Better understanding between community members and the health and social service system.
• Enhanced communication between community members and health providers.
• Increased use of health care services.
• Improved adherence to health recommendations.
• Reduced need for emergency and specialty services.

¹ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions. (2007).