Abstract
This chapter describes the Community Health Worker Core Consensus (C3) Project carried out from 2014 to 2018. The focus of the C3 Project was to develop an updated contemporary list of CHW core roles and competencies (skills and qualities) common in the United States, using the National Community Health Advisor Study (NCHAS, 1994–1998) as a baseline. This chapter outlines the process of undertaking the Project and the methods incorporated to maximize CHW voice and leadership in the process. The chapter closes with a presentation of the C3 Project’s updated CHW core roles and competencies. Of those roles or areas of CHW scope of work, three were newly identified since the NCHAS. They are implementing individual and community assessments; conducting outreach; and participating in evaluation and research. These and the other seven roles named by the C3 Project serve as the foundation for the organization of the ten roles highlighted in this book. Skills newly identified or refined in the same time frame include individual and community assessment skills; outreach skills; professional skills and conduct; and evaluation and research skills. Finally, qualities embraced by the C3 Project are noted; these are based on previous research in the field. The most prominent is the quality of CHWs’ “connection to the community served.”
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Acknowledgments
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The C3 Project (Phases 1 and 2) engaged a diverse and competent core team of staff, consultants, and students. That team included CHWs and CHW allies. Beyond the core team, we were grateful for the guidance from numerous advisors. Acknowledgment goes to Phase 1 advisory chairs/CHW fellows Catherine Gray Haywood and Jacqueline Ortiz Miller and advisors Noelle Wiggins and Sergio Matos. Thanks also go to Phase 2 visionary advisory chairs/hermanas, Floribella Redondo-Martinez and Gail Hirsch. See C3Project.org for a complete list of all C3 Project advisors and collaborators without whom this Project could not have succeeded.
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The C3 Project builds on a long tradition of CHW work in the United States. Special recognition goes to all who contributed to the National Community Health Advisor Study (NCHAS, 1994–1998) that set the stage for this work, especially to Jill Guernsey de Zapien and Maia Ingram at the University of Arizona and Susan Mayfield-Johnson with the then Center for Sustainable Health Outreach. We are also grateful for continued collaborators in the C3 Project within our core team including E. Lee Rosenthal, J. Nell Brownstein, and Durrell Fox—all three of whom played vital leadership roles in the NCHAS from 1994 to 1998. We also are grateful for continued collaboration with Noelle Wiggins, our Phase 1 advisor, who led the work on core roles and competencies in the NCHAS.
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We acknowledge the collaborative support, leadership, and guidance from many working within the CHW Section of the American Public Health Association and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We recognize Betsy Rodriguez at the CDC for supporting Spanish language translation for various C3 Project resources.
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Finally, these acknowledgments recall friends now gone, with respect and fondness, we remember the University of Arizona contributors Nancy Collyer, Don Proulx, and Joel Meister. Their lasting contributions to CHW field-building projects have made a difference—improving support for CHWs and the individuals, families, and communities they serve.
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Rosenthal, E.L. et al. (2021). The Community Health Worker Core Consensus (C3) Project Story: Confirming the Core Roles and Skills of Community Health Workers. In: St. John, J.A., Mayfield-Johnson, S.L., Hernández-Gordon, W.D. (eds) Promoting the Health of the Community . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56375-2_2
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