Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a major role in providing emergency health services in certain situations like Natural Disasters when there will be a shortage of health workers or slower response from the Local Government Health System. Some common natural disasters which will have a huge impact on many people in the community & require quick help from CHWs:

Being a Community Health Worker (CHW) is a difficult job at times, especially when it comes to the topic of nutrition. Nutrition is a very important component when CHWs are doing their work as it is the key to a lot of the health issues that are faced in society, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. CHWs must always make sure they emphasize a healthy lifestyle through nutrition because if people are eating healthy, then their risk of developing chronic illnesses or diseases in the future is decreased.

One thing that has to be remembered with nutrition is that the Community Health Workers (CHWs) must take the economic and environmental status of the people they are teaching into consideration. A good CHW will tailor their nutrition recommendations based on these factors. 

Nutrition is something that is often ignored when addressing health issues at times. It is important when addressing several health issues. As a community health worker it is important that nutrition is always being addressed. 

– Ashley Mason, IHELP Intern

As a student living near the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina, I experienced firsthand the incredible power of nature and its ability to grind civilization to a halt.  Unfortunately, I also witnessed how such damage can be compounded by inadequate planning or coordination from government agencies, insurers, and aid organizations.  Six years later, these events were close to mind when the Souris River overran its banks and flooded the city of Minot, North Dakota, where I was stationed.  My role as a new Air Force physician taking care of aircrew and nuclear surety morphed into assisting our helicopter squadron assess the damage to critical healthcare infrastructure along with providing medical care/transport to stranded personnel.  I discovered that some effects of that disaster, like black mold or depression, might be hidden initially but can far outlast the floodwaters.

In these crises and many others around the world, people have the capacity for tremendous resiliency.  Wounds heal, homes are rebuilt, and livelihoods are restored.  However the people vulnerable to lasting injury are nearly always the poorest, sickest, oldest, youngest, and most physically or mentally disabled among us.  International HELP is committed to not only training community health workers to prepare these underserved populations for disaster but also providing those workers with the tools necessary to become effective first responders in the event of an emergency.  Every year, extreme weather events cut short tens of thousands of lives and cost hundreds of billions in damages.  And due to climate change, such disasters are only expected to increase in frequency and severity in the coming years.  I hope to leverage my background in medicine, experience dealing with natural disasters, and training as a FEMA-certified emergency responder to assist this organization in accomplishing its mission: to educate, empower and equip people in need to be health leaders in their community.

Here are 5 tips to preparing for a disaster in your own life:

1. Understand your threats – What are the most common and most dangerous risks for your situation?  Learn everything you can about those and develop a plan.  
2. Have an emergency kit – You remembered canned food but don’t have a can opener?  Credit cards and ApplePay don’t work when the phone lines are down.  Check out this helpful guide from FEMA.
3. Develop useful skills – Take a course in CPR and learn how to handle a fire extinguisher.  Know how to board up windows and identify utility shut-off sites.  
4. Don’t forget your pets – Are your pets microchipped?  How would you navigate a scenario in which your pet is not allowed in a hotel or public shelter?
5. Help one another – Pay particular attention to those friends, family, and neighbors who may be infirm or otherwise require special assistance.

– Josh Stevens, Spring ’21 Intern

Nutrition is a very specific category with a vast array of coverage when pertaining to Community Health Workers (CHWs). The concept of nutrition is more than what we eat but how it is used by our bodies and how it can benefit our overall health. The burden of malnutrition is a deep issue many countries deal with, especially with vulnerable population groups like young children, older seniors, and individuals who are immune-compromised or have preexisting health concerns.

CHWs are on the front line experiencing how people suffer from malnourishment, growth stunting, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), and the symptoms and/or side effects of the NCDs. There is a level of hardship when facing people who are suffering in their own ways, and CHWs are capable of providing the necessary aid to these communities with the support of groups like IHELP.

Currently, IHELP is formulating a secondary nutrition education certification for CHWs to equip them with the more in-depth knowledge they will need when out in the field. IHELP aims to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and culturally/traditionally acceptable methods of nutritional food intake. Research is currently being compiled through country data profiles, peer-reviewed scientific study journals, and connecting with IHELP’s current CHWs. There is a distinct need to address malnutrition globally and with this education certification, which will empower future interventions, it is the best-calculated step in the direction of lessening its prevalence around the world.

– Ruk Siva, Spring 2021 Intern

Community Health Workers (CHWs) hold a unique role within the public health and medical systems. They provide a wide range of services and assist with several public health programs around the world. Many CHWs in the United States and high-income countries act as health promoters, educating community members about health-related topics.¹ CHWs have an in-depth understanding of their communities, and they can engage community leaders and members and spread public health messages in a culturally acceptable manner. In this context, CHWs serve a supporting role to well-established medical and public health systems, and it is easy to imagine a sharp distinction between Community Health Workers and trained healthcare professionals.

In contrast, CHWs in developing nations often complement overstretched healthcare systems and provide a wide variety of primary healthcare services.² The type and complexity of these services as well as incentives and pay will vary widely depending on location and level of education attained by the CHW.² This can blur the distinction between a layperson volunteering and a healthcare professional providing a service as a career. A systematic review of research on community health workers found that CHWs could be generally classified into three levels from lay people with informal training to “paraprofessionals” with in-depth training.² Each level has different roles within the healthcare system, but the authors note there is a lot of evidence that all levels of CHWs contribute to increasing healthcare coverage.² This shows that pinpointing the exact role of the CHW in the medical system of developing nations is difficult, but training CHWs is nonetheless a worthwhile global health project to increase healthcare coverage for hard-to-reach populations.

– Timothy Ramseyer, MPH Intern

References

1. Malcarney, M. B., Pittman, P., Quigley, L., Horton, K., & Seiler, N. (2017). The Changing Roles of Community Health Workers. Health services research, 52 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), 360–382. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12657

2. Olaniran, A., Smith, H., Unkels, R., Bar-Zeev, S., & van den Broek, N. (2017). Who is a community health worker? – a systematic review of definitions. Global health action, 10(1), 1272223. https://doi.org/10.1080/16549716.2017.1272223

Community Health Workers (CHWs) are trusted individuals who assist in improving health through promotion and education, help with chronic disease management, and provide necessary social support, counseling, and patient care access to members of their community.^1,2   Although they occupy several roles and their work has been repeatedly linked to health outcome improvement, an additional discipline where Community Health Workers may provide valuable support is disaster response. When a community is faced with disaster, they may be able to step in and offer emergency aid in two main areas to include:

1.) Providing emotional and social support

Following disasters, community members are often anxious and fearful due to the loss of vital resources such as food, water, and housing. Inevitably, stress, and in some cases, depression may have an impact on their health and wellness.² It is often necessary to acknowledge what is termed “secondary disasters” when catastrophe impacts a community. These secondary disasters refer to the psychosocial well-being of everyone affected by the disaster and encompass addressing their mental and emotional state.² Based on their training, community health workers may be able to provide counseling to those in need, and if they are unable to meet their needs, they can provide referrals to the appropriate professionals for those services.² Due to the established relationships that community health workers often have with community members, they are likely to confide in and trust these individuals and be receptive to the care that they offer.² Additionally, they may aide in equipping community members with appropriate preparedness knowledge, and awareness on what to expect in the days and weeks to come, helping to ease anxiety and fear.²

2.) Assessing resource availability and medical needs

Community Health Workers may be key in linking community members to necessary resources for food, water, and shelter, in addition to more advanced emergency aid when necessary.² They may work to assess the need and assist members in signing up for post-disaster recovery aid.²  Being that community health workers often live in the communities they serve, they are aware of the everyday needs of their fellow community members and are therefore able to conduct an accurate assessment of the loss and availability of resources following a disaster. Community health workers are often trained to provide limited direct medical services routinely, and their knowledge of how to address basic medical needs may become useful during a disaster, especially when access and transportation to medical facilities may be limited. Additionally, family separation is a common result of disasters, which can be detrimental for individuals with chronic diseases who rely on familial support and care for their condition.² Community Health workers may step in and work to provide that support and temporary medical care.²

The value of Community Health Workers is boundless. In the area of disaster response, with appropriate training and incorporation of these individuals into disaster preparedness plans, they may be of substantial assistance in helping to sustain communities when they are faced with foreseen and unforeseen circumstances as a result of catastrophe.

– Kayla Vanhook, MPH Intern

References 

1. Role of Community Health Workers. (2014, June). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational /healthdisp/role-of-community-health-workers.htm
2. Nicholls, K., Picou, S. J., & McCord, S. C. (2017). Training community health workers to enhance disaster resilience. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 23 Suppl 6 Suppl, Gulf Region Health Outreach Program, S78-S84. doi:10.1097/PHH.0000000000000645

Cultural awareness is essential in administering programs and delivering training materials in ways that are understandable and acceptable to the local community. Encompassing a community’s beliefs, values, and attitudes, culture greatly influences perspectives on health, leading to various health practices and outcomes. Although culture varies greatly across countries and continents, taking the time to understand and learn about a community’s cultural beliefs strengthens partnerships through the establishment of trust and communicates respect to the local people. Respecting other cultures and incorporating their beliefs into training materials makes a huge difference in the success of programs and the acceptance of health behavior change from these communities for more positive health outcomes.

Cultural components, such as language, religious beliefs, diet, family morals, and values contribute greatly to individual health behaviors and therefore, must be taken into consideration when creating training materials and programs. As an undergraduate intern at International HELP, I admire the effort, research, and time that goes into understanding a community’s cultural beliefs about health and how the organization uses that information to modify its training materials and deliver classes in a culturally aware way. Although the logistical content behind community health work is highly significant, it is cultural awareness that makes these programs long-lasting and successful and one of the reasons why International HELP has had so much success in working with diverse populations and training 226 community health workers across 8 countries.

– Jana Rafi, Intern

Audia F., International HELP MPH Intern, shares her perspective on how International HELP fosters an environment of empowerment and individual growth. There is always more to what meets the eye in each community and not every challenge is the same.

Community Health Workers Provide Extra Hands in Areas with Few Resources

Many times, health systems fail due to lack of access to care, lack of resources, and lack of knowledge of health professionals. In my 18+ years of working in the healthcare industry, I have found there are great benefits in obtaining increased knowledge and having a few more extra hands that are willing to help as opposed to working short-staffed. It increases your performance level which enables you to provide good quality care which in turn, leads to a more healthy population. Community Health Workers are the key members of the health team by assisting in all of these areas of concern.

Empowering Locals for Health Improvement

International HELP’s mission is to educate and empower local people to develop their own communities for health improvement. Through this initiative, Community Health Workers are given the knowledge and the confidence they need to be valuable assets in their communities. Working with International Help has been a great experience. It is so fulfilling to be associated with an organization that aims to be a part of lifelong change.

– Audia F., MPH Intern

As a physician practicing full-time in the United States, I see firsthand every day the end effects of people’s poor long-term health and lifestyle decisions…What I discovered was oftentimes people simply didn’t know a healthier way to live.