Job titles and responsibilities of community health workers (CHWs) have evolved along with the different organizations that have elected to employ them. In a 2020 speech, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden discussed the health disparities individuals face in economically distressed communities. He specifically discussed the roles of CHWs and the hiring of 150,000 CHWs to be placed in communities across the country. Unfortunately, information on the experiences, competencies, and factors that contribute to the success of CHWs is limited. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore CHWs’ perceptions of what their role entails and what internal and external factors impact their success on healthcare teams and at the current organization for which they work. Forty CHWs from four different states completed 60-minute semi-structured Zoom interviews. The findings of this study described the role of CHWs as locating and engaging members, connecting members of the health plan to both medical and social resources, assisting in navigating the healthcare system, and educating members on their benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2021 introduced changes in the way CHWs completed outreach and connected with members; it also introduced the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and connections to testing and vaccine programs. Important competencies highlighted by CHWs included empathy, communication skills, networking skills, and cultural competency. CHWs preferred hands-on learning methods when acquiring necessary skills for success. Lastly, organizations can assist and motivate CHWs in their organizations by providing incentives, ongoing training, and management support.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Psychology, University of Zululand, South Africa, 2006. / The University of Zululand Community Psychology Centre (CPC) is a joint project of the Department of Psychology, Educational Psychology and Industrial Psychology. It was established in response firstly to the University's need to provide relevant training for its post-graduate psychology students and secondly to meet the need within the Zululand community for affordable psychosocial and psycho-educational services. The Centre works in partnership with other local Zululand Mental Health centres. The Centre is accredited with the Professional Board for Psychologists of the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). This board ensures that institutions providing psychological services observe ethical codes of conduct and good practice (HPCSA, 2002). The present research was motivated by the fact that the CPC functioning has never been evaluated in terms of service delivery and relevance. The desire to know whether the CPC serves the purposes for which it was established, and to identify areas that need improvement, is a strong motivation. This helps to identify its viability, effectiveness, and value for the University of Zululand and the community served by the University. The aims of the study were to evaluate the CPC in terms of clients' perceptions with regard to effectiveness of the centre in meeting their needs and improving their psychological well-being. An accidental or convenient sample was used. An invitation to volunteer was extended to clients who happened to come for the CPC services. Volunteers completed a questionnaire^ which included a biographical inventory needs analysis questionnaire and RyfTs Scale (1995) of psychological well-being. Participants were pre and post-tested on the variable of psychological well being. The study concluded that the CPC still serves the purpose for which it was established. It is still relevant to the demand of the community. The results revealed that pre and post testing was associated with a significant improvement in total psychological well-being as with special reference to personal growth and positive relations with others. / NRF

Michael E. Borus, C. Gregory Buntz, William R. Tash. / Bibliography: p. 129-147.

A wide range of people are interested in how local factors influence patient choice among hospitals. Administrators need to know why patients are admitted to their hospitals so they can develop more sophisticated marketing of their services in an increasingly competitive environment. Planners concerned with issues of patient accessibility need know the geographic patterns of hospital use To meet these needs, it becomes necessary to develop methods to estimate the probability that patients will be admitted to a particular hospital using models that incorporate location and size of competing hospitals. In this paper, the focus of econometric investigation and prediction is the probability that a patient will select e particular hospital. Four different service areas were delineated and studied in West Virginia to test the Huff Consumer Spatial Behavior model for estimating demand at four hospitals that may be facing closure. It was found that through application of the Huff model that in a small system of hospitals and patients, each patient location (i.e., zip code) will send patients to nearly every hospital. The model predicted sufficient demand for two of the four hospitals studied. Conventional methodologies were then compared to the Huff model. The model did not test for financial feasibility of any of the facilities nor did the model adequately address the issue of how patients select a particular facility. / Master of Science