Community Health Workers in Time of Crisis

A Covid-19 Case Study

Bibliographic Data

ID9021933
AuthorsMichael Stevenson (0000-0003-3720-1888), Michael C Stevenson (0000-0001-8511-2666, University of Wisconsin–Madison), Corina Norrbom (0000-0002-2756-4477, Medical College of Wisconsin-Central Wisconsin, Wausau, USA), Mariana Savela (Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service, Wausau, USA), Yee Leng Xiong (Hmong American Center, Inc., Wausau, WI, USA), Tou Fong Lee (Outkast Alterations, Menomonee Falls, WI, USA), Cecilia García (0009-0004-3103-5414, Medical College of Wisconsin), Otis Winstead (0009-0000-1789-0511, Dry Hootch, Milwaukee, WI, USA), Margarita Northrop (Wisconsin Department of Health Services), Marie G Sandy (0000-0002-0669-5822, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, corresponding author)
Year2022
Publication date2022-11-17
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Humanistic Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-1678 • E-ISSN: 1552-650X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/00221678221132718
OpenAlexW4309617809
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited31

This article focuses on the lived experiences of those implementing community health worker (CHW) programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based in an upper mid-west state, this qualitative case study is bounded by the state-level context and two distinct local case sites—one rural and one urban—and includes the experiences of five CHWs, two program directors, and a state-level administrator. The acute crisis response galvanized the ongoing need for CHWs, not only because they are trusted health messengers, but because they advocate for—and organize with—communities to address inequalities and inform public health institutions. Author-practitioners described personal and community identity as intertwined, a perspective in solidarity with decolonized approaches to humanistic psychology. Highlights discussed include: (a) Personal relationships motivated author-practitioners to join the pandemic response; (b) All pandemic response efforts were interconnected with social determinants of health; (c) The pandemic was as an opportunity to do things differently with more flexibility, personally and organizationally; and (d) Privately funded opportunities enabled local areas to implement quick responses, which influenced eventual state-level responses. All authors described structural racism as a constant context of this work. This article fills gaps in the literature related to the implementation of crisis responses and CHW programs

Context (archaeology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Economic growth · Geography · Pandemic · Political science · Politics · Public health · Public relations · Sociology · Solidarity · Community Health and Development · Disaster Response and Management · Law · Medicine · Migration, Health and Trauma · Nursing

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access