TY - JOUR
T1 - Feasibility of community health workers as teleaudiology patient-site facilitators
T2 - a multilevel training study
AU - Coco, Laura
AU - Piper, Rosie
AU - Marrone, Nicole
N1 - Funding Information:
There are an estimated 1.3 million CHWs globally, and 123,000 in the United States (WHO ; Bureau of Labor and Statistics ). CHWs’ roles and responsibilities are tailored to fit the unique needs of the community served, and therefore their activities vary by region. Generally, in the US, CHWs’ help clients understand the health care system, provide culturally-relevant outreach and patient advocacy, deliver health education, and provide some limited direct health services, such as basic first aid, informal medication counselling, and health screenings (APHA ). According to the most recent CHW National Workforce Study by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Bureau of Health Professions, nearly three-fourths of CHWs in the US work in paid positions, and one-fourth are volunteers (HRSA ). CHWs may be financed through community-based non-profit organisations, schools, universities, physician’s offices, hospitals, and short-term grant funding (HRSA ). Research on US-based interventions shows that CHWs have contributed to health improvements in patients with chronic diseases and conditions, including diabetes (Allen et al. ), hypertension (Balcázar et al. ), and asthma (Coutinho et al. ).
Funding Information:
Research in this publication was funded with support by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health (NIDCD/NIH) under Award Number F32DC017081, the Arizona Telemedicine Program, Sertoma, and the Arizona Community Foundation. The authors would like to thank the Community Health Workers for their commitment to supporting the health of their communities, and for their collaboration on this ongoing project. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or other funders. This research represents part of a PhD dissertation by the first author at the University of Arizona.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 British Society of Audiology, International Society of Audiology, and Nordic Audiological Society.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-level teleaudiology patient-site facilitator training program for Community Health Workers (CHWs) at a partnering health centre in southern Arizona. Design: Three levels were offered: Introductory, with basic information on hearing loss and teleaudiology; Intermediate, on technology, team roles, and access issues; and Facilitator, on further knowledge and hands-on skills to serve as patient-site facilitators in synchronous hearing aid service delivery. Six domains of feasibility were addressed using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data included survey responses and observation of hands-on skills. Qualitative data included field notes from group discussion and open-ended survey questions, and were analysed using CHW core competencies. Study sample: Twelve CHWs participated in the introductory training, ten moved on to intermediate, and three continued to the facilitator. Results: Quantitative outcomes indicated that the trainings were feasible according to each of the six domains. CHWs in the facilitator training passed the practical hands-on skill assessment. Qualitative analyses revealed CHWs comments addressed eight of the ten possible CHW core competencies, and focussed on service coordination/navigation, and capacity building. Conclusions: Teleaudiology trainings for CHWs were feasible, increasing service capacity for a potential pathway to improve access to hearing health care in low-resource areas.
AB - Objective: We evaluated the feasibility of a multi-level teleaudiology patient-site facilitator training program for Community Health Workers (CHWs) at a partnering health centre in southern Arizona. Design: Three levels were offered: Introductory, with basic information on hearing loss and teleaudiology; Intermediate, on technology, team roles, and access issues; and Facilitator, on further knowledge and hands-on skills to serve as patient-site facilitators in synchronous hearing aid service delivery. Six domains of feasibility were addressed using a mixed-methods design. Quantitative data included survey responses and observation of hands-on skills. Qualitative data included field notes from group discussion and open-ended survey questions, and were analysed using CHW core competencies. Study sample: Twelve CHWs participated in the introductory training, ten moved on to intermediate, and three continued to the facilitator. Results: Quantitative outcomes indicated that the trainings were feasible according to each of the six domains. CHWs in the facilitator training passed the practical hands-on skill assessment. Qualitative analyses revealed CHWs comments addressed eight of the ten possible CHW core competencies, and focussed on service coordination/navigation, and capacity building. Conclusions: Teleaudiology trainings for CHWs were feasible, increasing service capacity for a potential pathway to improve access to hearing health care in low-resource areas.
KW - Community Health Workers/education
KW - Community Health Workers/standards
KW - Tele-audiology/Tele-health
KW - access to health services
KW - inservice training
KW - training
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U2 - 10.1080/14992027.2020.1864487
DO - 10.1080/14992027.2020.1864487
M3 - Article
C2 - 33403874
AN - SCOPUS:85099309789
SN - 1499-2027
VL - 60
SP - 663
EP - 676
JO - International Journal of Audiology
JF - International Journal of Audiology
IS - 9
ER -