Community Health Worker Curriculums

There are no standard requirements for community health worker (CHW) training curriculums. Many states offer CHW training curriculums at academic institutions and direct service agencies, but the content, focus, and organization of the curriculums vary. CHW training curriculums often address a set of core competencies and skills. Training curriculums are typically designed as initial training for someone new to the CHW role.

Topics commonly addressed in CHW curriculums include:

Engagement, including building networks and using other strategies to help patients identify needs to connect them to resources and sources of care.
Community Knowledge, including information on community needs, knowledge of social determinants of health affecting the community, and understanding how to access healthcare and social services systems.
Communication, such as strategies for communicating effectively and respectfully, both verbally and in writing, providing translation and interpretation services, and facilitating client-provider communications.
Cultural Awareness, such as approaches for demonstrating cultural responsiveness and an understanding of stigma and community prejudices.
Outreach, which includes information sharing with family members and caregivers, establishing trusting relationships, working with clinicians, and other strategies.
Education, including how to teach concepts of disease prevention and health promotion to patients, strategies to motivate and help patients reach their goals, supporting behavior change, and educating social services providers on community and population needs.
Ethical Considerations and Professional Conduct, including an understanding of standards regarding liability, legal, and ethical issues, including how to respect HIPAA and patient privacy.
Evaluation and Research, including data collection and sharing results from research and assessments with the community.
Health Knowledge, such as the pathophysiology (disease processes) of different diseases, strategies for managing chronic conditions, medications, and other health topics relevant to the community.

Other topics that may be addressed in CHW training curriculums include:

Technology, such as digital tools for data collection, mobile technology for recording health messages for patient education, and electronic health records for recording patient data in clinical settings.
Alignment of the CHW's work with health system goals.
Service delivery, including working with patients to provide screenings, basic services, and home visiting.
Safety, including strategies to address risks among CHWs, patients, and others
Care coordination and navigation, including working collaboratively as part of a medical home team, using trauma-informed care approaches, and documenting work and patient data.

Considerations for developing CHW curriculums include content, mode of training sessions, accessibility, and costs. Curriculums should be accessible to CHWs regardless of their learning style, setting, geographic location, and language. Program leadership might also consider gathering input from CHWs and their supervisors about which skills and topics are of interest to CHWs or needed in the community to inform curriculums, as well as hiring experienced CHWs to teach and deliver the curriculum content.

CHWs should receive training for any technology that they are required to use. This may include videoconferencing technology for check-ins with supervisors or trainings, scheduling applications or email for interactions with other team members or clients, or electronic health records or mobile applications for documentation.