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Community health workers: a public health busieness case

Rafus, Brandon (2016) Community health workers: a public health busieness case. Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.

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Abstract

Community health workers (CHW) epitomize public health significance from quality, policy, and economic standpoints. CHWs increase the quality of community health by functioning as a common thread between Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and clinical initiatives within health systems. Hence, opportunities for best practices actualize in accordance with a vision of optimal attainment of health. CHWs influence broader policy legislation by engaging communities to identify paramount concerns faced, using their platform to voice concerns to authoritative decision makers on local, state, and national levels. CHWs influence economic sustainability pertaining to health care utilization by utilizing their social capital, which oftentimes is extremely costly to develop and maintain in workforce development. As paraprofessionals, they also are a low cost solution for post-discharge care within an interdisciplinary team. Moreover, CHWs enable a transformation of previous ideological constructs concerning community health, and help to shape the health behaviors of their constituents. The following essay critically examines public health implications associated with CHW interventions used to meet needs of patients enrolled in special needs plans (SNPs). In addition, I have chosen to include specific suggestions for UPMC Health Plan to emphasize immediate impacts of CHW interventions as a business case when utilizing regulatory and clinical competence. These suggestions are based off of my experience as UPMC Health Plan’s Administrative Resident. Practical themes of interest discussed such as CHW incorporation, CHW training and return on investment (ROI) rely on the support of evidence-based literature accordingly. Lastly, I collectively provide recommendations for prospective CHW roles within UPMC Health Plan that possess long-term public health implications.


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Details

Item Type: Other Thesis, Dissertation, or Long Paper (Master Essay)
Status: Unpublished
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Rafus, Brandon
Contributors:
ContributionContributors NameEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Committee ChairFriede, Samuelfriede@pitt.eduUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Committee MemberFinegold, David Ndnf@pitt.eduUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
UNSPECIFIEDPrushnok, RayUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
UNSPECIFIEDLovelace, John GUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Date: 31 March 2016
Date Type: Submission
Access Restriction: No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately.
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Schools and Programs: School of Public Health > Health Policy & Management
Degree: MHA - Master of Health Administration
Thesis Type: Master Essay
Refereed: Yes
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2016 17:04
Last Modified: 20 Dec 2018 00:56
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/27536

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