Community Health Worker (CHW) Toolkit

These resources focus on state policies and laws related to CHW certification.

• Policy Brief: Facilitating the Use of Community Health Workers in Health Delivery Systems [PDF – 623 KB]
  This resource discusses state-level policy options and their possible effects on the services provided by CHWs. This policy brief is a companion to the policy evidence assessment report What Evidence Supports State Laws to Establish Community Health Worker Scope of Practice and Certification? which assesses evidence for 2 types of Community Health Worker policy interventions addressed in existing state laws to inform state decision makers and public health organizations.
• Policy Brief: Addressing Chronic Disease through Community Health Workers [PDF – 1.1 MB]
  This resource demonstrates the value and impact of CHWs in preventing and managing a variety of chronic diseases. In addition, this resource includes descriptions of chronic disease programs that are engaging CHWs, examples of state legislative action, and resources to build an integrated and sustainable CHW workforce.
• Report: Community Health Worker Policy Evidence Assessment Report [PDF – 1.1 MB]
  This resource summarizes policies that are reflected in successful CHW programs and/or CHW laws. For each component, the report provides its level of evidence (i.e., best, promising, or emerging) based on quality and impact scores.
• Summary: Community Health Worker Policy Evidence Assessment Report [PDF – 231 KB]
  This resource summarizes the key findings of the CHW Policy Evidence Assessment Report.
• Summary: State Laws for Community Health Workers [PDF – 680 KB]
  This resource presents a summary of states with select CHW laws in effect as of December 2012 and highlights Massachusetts as an example.
• State Law Fact Sheet: A Summary of State Community Health Worker Laws [PDF – 1 MB]

This section provides applied research findings and best practices in implementing, evaluating, and engaging with CHWs.

• Best Practices Guide for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
  This guide describes and summarizes scientific evidence behind 8 effective strategies for lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
• Community Preventive Services Task Force Findings: Interventions Engaging Community Health Workers for Cardiovascular Disease and Control
  This resource presents recommendations and findings about interventions that engage CHWs to prevent cardiovascular disease.
• Field Note: Clinical-Community Health Worker Initiative in the Mississippi Delta to Improve Cardiovascular Disease [PDF – 246 KB]
  This resource highlights the structure, processes, and outcomes of an initiative in the Mississippi Delta that integrates CHWs in health care facilities, barbershops, and churches. Initiative goals and objectives and the reach and impact as of 2014 are outlined.
• Field Note: The St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Community Health Team Model to Improve Coordination of Care [PDF – 656 KB]
  This resource highlights structure, processes, and outcomes of the St. Johnsbury, Vermont Community Health Team, which includes CHWs, to improve the coordination of care to address chronic disease conditions. Initiative goals and objectives and the reach and impact as of 2012 are outlined.
• Implementation Guide for Public Health Practitioners: The St. Johnsbury Community Health Team Model [PDF – 2 MB]
  This resource is a comprehensive overview of the core elements of the St. Johnsbury, Vermont Community Health Team (CHT) Model. This guide provides information on how to start a CHT in your community along with steps for planning an evaluation for a CHW program.
• Summary: CDC Support for Community Health Workers in Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [PDF – 322 KB]
  This resource provides basic information on who CHWs are, how they support the priority domains of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), a list of funded partners engaged in CHW strategies, and NCCDPHP products about and for CHWs.
• Technical Assistance Guide: Community Health Workers Technical Assistance Guide for 1305 Grantees [PDF – 515 KB]
  This resource serves as a support tool for funded state partners who are implementing CHW strategies in health systems and community-clinical linkages.
• The Community Health Worker’s Sourcebook: A Training Manual for Preventing Heart Disease and Stroke

This section provides resources that could be used to train public health professionals interested in the CHW field or as a training tool or job aid to build the knowledge, skills, and abilities of CHWs focused on cardiovascular disease control.

• Community Health Worker Training Resource
  This resource is a reference for CHWs and a curriculum that health educators, nurses, and other instructors can use to train CHWs. The sourcebook contains information and activities on heart disease and stroke and on the major risk factors for these diseases in adults. Because the sourcebook contains some technical information, it is recommended for CHWs who already have some experience in their profession.
• Community Health Worker Resources

Download the training resource:

• • A Community Health Worker Training Resource for Preventing Heart Disease and Stroke [PDF – 21 MB]
• Promotora Guide: How to Control Your Fat and Cholesterol [PDF – 783 KB]
  This resource serves as a job aide for CHWs and promotoras de salud to use with the Fotonovela: How to Control Your Fat and Cholesterol.
• Fotonovela: How to Control Your Fat and Cholesterol [PDF – 3.7 MB]
  This resource was designed for CHWs and promotoras de salud to read with community members to help them learn about how to control their cholesterol.
• Guía de la Promotora: Cómo controlar la grasa y el colesterol [PDF – 831 KB]
• Fotonovela: Cómo controlar la grasa y el colesterol [PDF – 4.1 MB]

• September 2020: Opportunities and Responsibilities for Pharmacists to Improve Their Effectiveness in Addressing Medication Adherence Through Culturally Sensitive Collaborations with Community Health Workers [PDF – 193 KB]
• February 2016: Do State Community Health Worker Laws Align with Best Available Evidence? [PDF – 1 MB]

This section provides a list of CHW-related peer-reviewed journal articles authored and/or co-authored by DHDSP staff.

• Jayapaul-Philip B, Shantharam SS, Moeti R, Kumar GS, Barbero C, Rohan EA, Mensa-Wilmot Y, Soler R. Community Health Worker Initiatives: An Approach to Design and Measurement. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2022 Mar-Apr 01;28(2):E333-E339. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001183.
• Wennerstrom A, Sugarman M, Rush C, Barbero C, Jayapaul-Philip B, Fulmer EB, Shantharam S, Moeti R, Mason T. “Nothing About Us Without Us”: Insights from State-level Efforts to Implement Community Health Worker Certification. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2021;32(2):892-909. doi: 10.1353/hpu.2021.0070.
• Rodela, K., Wiggins, N., Maes, K., Campos-Dominguez, T., Adewumi, V., Jewell, P., & Mayfield-Johnson, S .The Community Health Worker (CHW) Common Indicators Project: Engaging CHWs in Measurement to Sustain the Profession  Front Public Health. 2021; 9: 674858. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.674858.
• Allen CG, Barbero C, Shantharam S, Moeti R. Is Theory Guiding Our Work? A Scoping Review on the Use of Implementation Theories, Frameworks, and Models to Bring Community Health Workers into Health Care Settings – PubMed (nih.gov) J Public Health Manag Pract. 2019 Nov/Dec;25(6):571-580. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000000846.
• Allen C, Brownstein JN, Jayapaul-Philip B, Matos S, Mirambeau A. Strengthening the effectiveness of state-level community health worker initiatives through ambulatory care partnerships. J Ambul Care Manage 2015 Jul–Sep;38(3):254–62. doi: 10.1097/JAC.0000000000000085.
• Barbero C, Gilchrist S, Chriqui JF, Martin M, Wennerstrom A, VanderVeur J, Prewitt K, Brownstein JN. Do state community health worker laws align with best available evidence? J Community Health 2016 Apr;41(2):315–25. doi: 10.1007/s10900-015-0098-x.