Deploying community health workers who are trusted within their communities or have a deep understanding of the people they serve is a proven strategy for identifying and addressing social determinants of health. Researchers engaged a group of CHWs in Baltimore to examine how they leverage their experiences to help vulnerable individuals within their communities navigate their circumstances.

The researchers concluded that embedding CHW-led initiatives into healthcare delivery and public health systems must go beyond inclusion. Incorporating CHW-centered policies and practices anchored in the intersectional experience of CHWs is important in delivering effective health equity interventions. It is critical to: 

• Engage CHWs as partners and content experts in the development of interventions and policies
• Develop rigorous protocols to protect them in their work
• Provide full health benefits with access to mental health services
• Establish sustainable compensation models to strengthen minoritized staff

*Tackling Structural Racism in Health, funded in part by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.