Community Health Workers for COVID Response and Resilient Communities Training Success Story

Community Health Worker Profile Project

The Central Ohio Pathways HUB Community Health Worker (CHW) Certification Program was started in 2020 with the goal of training CHWs who are already working as CHWs or those looking to enter the field. Our certification program is a twelve-week, six-hour-a-week, three-days-a-week virtual training program that includes didactic teaching, pre-work, practicum placement, and robust class discussion. The class covers a broad range of topics, from social determinants of health to racial disparities, as well as cultural competency and humility. This certification program encompasses all aspects of physical, social, and mental well-being.

Researchers from University of Maryland, Yale University, and York University estimated that maximizing uptake of the new COVID-19 bivalent booster could:

(a) save tens of thousands of American lives;

(b) prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations; and

(c) avert tens of billions of dollars in direct medical expenses.1

Minimal research has been conducted on strategies to encourage COVID-19 boosters.  However,  based upon relevant studies for other purposes, there are promising messages and practices that might increase vaccinations.  Here are some approaches that you can consider: