INTRO:
- Community health workers (CHWs) are members of the community who bridge the gap between the community and mental health care and resources.1
- CHWs can offer evidence-based interventions to community members with less intensive needs while mental health professionals provide higher level of care to patients with more severe symptomatology.2
- Past research suggests that CHWs experience high levels of stress and are at risk of burnout due to the range of responsibilities they take on.3
AIM:
- The aim of this study is to conduct a need’s assessment of CHWs stress and burnout.
METHODS:
- Participants (N = 9) took part in semi-structured qualitative interviews.
- Audio of interviews were transcribed and coded
Dina Bashoura, B.A.; Diane G. Marin, B.A.; Chris Blank B.A., Maya M. Boustani, PhD
Title: A Need’s Assessment of Community Health Workers Who Work with Underserved Children and Families in the United States
Community health workers
experience a high number of
stressors that put them at
risk of burnout
RESULTS:
- CHWs are faced with difficulties related to role clarity or having unclear boundaries which contributes to their stress and burnout.
- CHWs experience vicarious trauma through the stories they hear from the clients they work with.
- CHWs identified being overworked in their clinical setting as a major stressor and contributes to feelings of burnout.
- Administrative paperwork and the logistics of being a CHW employee were also significant stressors for CHWs.
- To combat these stressors, CHWs have a number of coping methods they employ that were either learned through their trainings or self-taught which help to reduce their perceived stress.
- These coping methods include meditation, relaxation techniques, spending time in nature, going for a drive, listening to music, or spending time with family.
- DISCUSSION:
- A potential avenue to reduce stress and burnout may be incorporating mindfulness training and providing structured supervision.
- Based on previous research, CHWs have inadequate training and supervision to deal with stressors.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS:
- Develop a system to support CHWs mental health and reduce their stress and burnout.
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References:
- Ayala, G. X., Vaz, L., Earp, J. A., Elder, J. P., & Cherrington, A. (2010). Outcome effectiveness of the lay health advisor model among Latinos in the United States: an examination by role. Health education research, 25(5), 815-840.
- Araya, R., Flynn, T., Rojas, G., Fritsch, R., & Simon, G. (2006). Cost-effectiveness of a primary care treatment program for depression in low-income women in Santiago, Chile. American journal of psychiatry, 163(8), 1379-1387.
- Paul, S. (1996). Mental health: An endangered occupational therapy specialty?. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50(1), 65-68.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
- Dr. Juan Carlos Belliard and Ms. Cristie Granillo
at the Institute for Community Partnership for recruitment support.
- The CHWs for sharing their experiences.
“I’m a community health education worker, I’m supposed to help families and encourage kids and I’m facing these challenges myself.”
(Code: Overworked - Clinical)
“It gets a little bit hectic...you get pulled in many different directions”
(Code: Role Clarity/Boundaries)
“You think about what just happened and vicarious trauma is present.”
(Code: Vicarious Trauma)
“I would just have to keep working, even when I was out of the office.”
(Code: Overworked - Clinical)
“We work under grants so are you going to have a job or not? That’s a challenge for us. That is stressful.”
(Code: Administrative/Logistics/Payroll/Employment)
“I like to meditate in the morning and before I go to sleep… do something that keeps me in a positive mood to start the day off right”
(Code: Coping Methods)