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Features and Impact of Trust-Based Relationships Between Community Health Workers and Low-Resource Perinatal Women with Chronic Health Conditions

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Abstract

Objectives

Community health worker (CHW) programs are a promising strategy to improve maternal and child health outcomes, particularly among low-resource women. Yet, little is known about which aspects of CHW-client relationships are most salient for promoting positive change. This paper examines features of the CHW-client relationship that perinatal women with chronic conditions reported as being beneficial for their experience of prenatal care and pregnancy.

Methods

Focus groups and interviews were conducted with 18 CHWs and 39 clients from three Merck for Mothers-funded programs in the Eastern United States. Data were analyzed using a grounded theory-informed thematic approach.

Results

CHWs built trust-based relationships through emotional attendance, authenticity, and prioritization of clients’ needs. They provided instrumental, informational, and emotional support that clients reported facilitated greater engagement with the healthcare system, improved health behaviors, and reduced stress. CHWs and clients alike viewed their relationships as having long-lasting impacts, made possible by the trust-based bond between them.

Discussion

Strong, trusting relationships with CHWs may be one avenue through which to improve maternal and infant health for vulnerable perinatal women. Community health care programs should promote trust-building as an explicit program goal. Trust-based CHW-client relationships may serve as an exemplar for transforming traditional care relationships between providers and clients, leading to greater client engagement in care and improved health.

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Data Availability

De-identified data are available upon request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

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Funding

This research was supported by funding from Merck through its Merck for Mothers program, known as MSD for Mothers outside the United States and Canada. It was also supported by funding from the National Institute of Mental Health of the National Institutes of Health (T32MH020031-18). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not represent the official views of Merck or the National Institutes of Health.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208058, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Lisa M. Boyd

  2. Yale School of Public Health, 135 College St, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA

    Renee Mehra & Jessica B. Lewis

  3. University of California at Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Jordan Thomas

  4. Department of Public Health Sciences, UConn Health, 263 Farmington Ave, Farmington, CT, 06030, USA

    Shayna D. Cunningham

Authors
  1. Lisa M. Boyd
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  2. Renee Mehra
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  3. Jordan Thomas
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  4. Jessica B. Lewis
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  5. Shayna D. Cunningham
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Contributions

LB, JBL, and SDC conceptualized the study. JT and RM assisted with data collection. LB and RM conducted the data analyses. Findings were reviewed and interpreted by all the authors. All authors contributed to the writing and have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shayna D. Cunningham.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

The study was deemed exempt under 45 CFR 46.101(b)(2) by the Yale School of Medicine Institutional Review Board.

Consent to participate

Verbal informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their participation.

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Not applicable.

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Boyd, L.M., Mehra, R., Thomas, J. et al. Features and Impact of Trust-Based Relationships Between Community Health Workers and Low-Resource Perinatal Women with Chronic Health Conditions. Matern Child Health J 25, 1866–1874 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03242-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03242-z

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