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Community Health Workers for Patients with Medical and Behavioral Needs: Challenges and Opportunities

Laderman M, Mate K. Community health workers for patients with medical and behavioral health needs: Challenges and opportunities. Healthcare. August 5, 2015. [Epub ahead of print]

Community health workers are the dominant intervention to support patients outside of the clinic, but these interventions do not always optimally meet patients’ needs. Organizations should consider the challenges and benefits of CHWs for patients with medical and behavioral health needs. This article by IHI authors outlines challenges to successful CHW programs for this population, proposes two design considerations for community-based behavioral health integration, and suggests ways in which quality improvement methods might help with both challenges. [See also the related IHI Innovation Report.]

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The aim of the IHI 90-day innovation project described in this report was to develop an approach to managing patients with comorbid behavioral health and medical needs in community-based settings. The report identifies four populations who could be well-served by community-based behavioral health integration and potential interventions to support these populations; describes the role and key functions of community health workers; and discusses key areas for future research and improvement.

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Community Health Workers for Patients with Medical and Behavioral Needs: Challenges and Opportunities