Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities: Academic-community partnership to support workforce capacity building among Arizona community health workers

  • Dulce J. Jiménez
  • , Omar Gomez
  • , Ruby Meraz
  • , Amanda M. Pollitt
  • , Linnea Evans
  • , Naomi Lee
  • , Matt Ignacio
  • , Katherine Garcia
  • , Richard Redondo
  • , Floribella Redondo
  • , Heather J. Williamson
  • , Sabrina Oesterle
  • , Sairam Parthasarathy
  • , Samantha Sabo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has both highlighted and worsened existing health inequities among communities of color and structurally vulnerable populations. Community Health Workers, inclusive of Community Health Representatives (CHW/Rs) have entered the spotlight as essential to COVID-19 prevention and control. To learn about community experiences and perspectives related to COVID-19 and inform CHW/R workforce capacity building efforts, a series of focus groups were conducted with CHW/Rs throughout Arizona at two time points in 2021. Throughout the data collection and analysis process, researchers and community partners engaged in ongoing and open dialogue about what CHW/Rs on the ground were reporting as priority community concerns, needs, and challenges. Thus, CHW/Rs informed the development of culturally and linguistically relevant health education messages, materials, and training for CHW/Rs. In this community case study, we detail the efforts of partnership between a statewide CHW professional association and an academic research team that facilitated rapid decision-making and knowledge sharing to create community-grounded tools and resources supportive of CHW/R workforce capacity building in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number1072808
JournalFrontiers in Public Health
Volume11
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2 2023

Keywords

  • American Indian/Indigenous
  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Latinx/Hispanic
  • academic-community partnership
  • community health representatives
  • community health worker (CHW)
  • mixed methods

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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