Webinar: Engaging Community Health Workers to Prevent and Manage Disease

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends interventions that engage community health workers to prevent cardiovascular disease or to prevent and control diabetes. In addition to improving health and saving money, these interventions can be used to improve health and enhance health equity.

During this presentation, scientists from CDC’s Community Guide branch presented information about the following:

• CPSTF recommendations for interventions that engage community health workers to prevent cardiovascular disease, prevent diabetes, or manage diabetes
• Effectiveness and economic evidence from systematic reviews used to inform the CPSTF findings

Betsy Rodriguez, public health advisor, Health Education and Promotion Team and deputy director of CDC’s National Diabetes Education Program discussed:

• How community health workers can be used to promote health and enhance health equity
• CDC funding that has facilitated work between states and community health workers for prevention and management of chronic conditions including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and obesity

Learning Objectives

• Understand how Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for interventions engaging community health workers can be used to improve health outcomes and prevent disease
• Discuss challenges and successes associated with engaging community health workers for prevention
• Describe the evidence-base for CPSTF recommendations

Additional Resources

• Community Guide: Community Health Workers web page learn more about relevant CPSTF recommendations and access additional tools and resources
• State Community Health Worker Models
• E- Learning training series: Promoting Policy and Systems Change to Expand Employment of Community Health Workers (CHWs)
• Association of State and Territorial Health Officials ASTHO/ Community Health Workers
• States Implementing Community Health Worker Strategies
• State Public Health Actions to Prevent and Control Diabetes, Heart Disease, Obesity and Associated Risk Factors and Promote School Health (Information about DP13-1305 Funding)
• Rural Health Information Hub, Community Health Workers
• Community Health Worker (CHW) Toolkit
• Community Health Worker Resources