Community Health Workers Initiative

About the UH Community Health Workers Initiative

The health care system has run into a wall of mistrust. Community Health Workers (CHWs) — folks from the community who help with preventive and community health — can create more trust but have only been provided with limited support to build that trust. We believe a new and more significant role for CHWs can provide transformative social and health outcomes for the community by building, sustaining, and deserving trust. A new role for academic experts means that responsive engagement replaces top-down directions and that the experts can help support and celebrate the creativity in the community. An expanded role for faith-based partnerships ties better health to community individuals' mental, physical, and spiritual health. A new strategy for sustaining the business model through long-term outcomes-based payments means that CHWs can work for good pay as health advocates.