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April 08-09, 2019 | Zurich, Switzerland
Health Care and Neuroscience
International Conference on
Page 39
Journal of Public Health Policy and Planning | Volume 3
C
ommunity Health Centers serve the most
underserved populations worldwide. Many of
the patients have complex co-morbid conditions
such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, depression,
asthma, substance abuse, and communicable and
infectious diseases. These health centers are located
within rural and inner-city communities with no
direct access to primary care and enabling services.
The social determinants of health greatly impact
underserved individuals including poverty, education,
housing, transportation, environmental issues, and
employment. The American Public Health Association
defines Community Health Workers (CHW’s) as a
trustedmemberofthecommunitywhoservesasalink
between health/social services and the community.
They facilitate access to services and improve the
quality and cultural competence of service delivery.
CHW’s are pivotal to assisting patients address social
determinants of health that present as a barrier to
accessing health care. Generally speaking, social
determinants of health relate to conditions in the
environments inwhich people live that impact health,
quality-of-life outcomes and risks such as, access to
health care services, transportation, social support,
language/literacy, culture, residential segregation,
public safety, access to educational, economic and
employment opportunities, and social norms and
attitudes. CHW’s are currently being incorporated
into clinical care teams across the United States with
successful partnerships and outcomes at addressing
barriers to care. The Penn Center for Community
Health Workers at the University of Pennsylvania
has provided services to more than 6,000 individuals
in Philadelphia using CHW’s hired from the local
community to support high-risk individuals. Program
outcomes include a 30% reduction in hospital
admissions and improved patients’ primary care
access (post discharge). TheHenry FordHealthSystem
has also utilized CHW’s to link pregnant women to
community resources through their WIN Network
(Women InspiredNetwork). This program, established
in response to the high infant mortality rate among
African-American women, showed zero infant deaths
among the 200 women enrolled in 2016 compared
to then current statistics of 16 infant deaths in 1,000
for greater Detroit, Michigan. Research demonstrates
that CHW’s improve healthcare outcomes, control
costs and enhance the coordination of care for
all patients, in particular low income and under
resourced patients. This presentation will focus on
the impact CHW’s have at Charter Oak Health Center
in the United States as well as in other community
health settings to address social determinants of
health thereby improving care coordination resulting
in favorable patient satisfaction, better health
outcomes and cost savings.
Nichelle A Mullins
Charter Oak Health Center, USA
Addressing social determinants of health uƟlizing community health
workers