Community Health Workers, Preventive Medicine and Public Health

1. Marco Meneses,MPH,MS, CHW
Presentation Title: Community Health Workers, Preventive Medicine and Public Health
Description for conference agenda (150 words): Brief summary of the presentation, topics to be
covered, and what attendees will learn.
Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death and disability in the United States. People with
chronic conditions are the most frequent users of health care in the U.S. They account for 81% of
hospital admissions, 91% of all prescriptions filled, and 76% of all physician visits. Chronic
diseases can be disabling and reduce a person’s quality of life, especially if left undiagnosed or
untreated. For example, every 30 seconds a lower limb is amputated as a consequence of diabetes.
Chronic diseases are often preventable, and manageable through improved diet, exercise and
medication adherence. Community Health Workers have an unusually close understanding of the
community served- “community connectedness”- and teach and encourage individuals and
communities about healthy lifestyles and behaviors as proper nutrition, the importance of exercise,
and understand the medications that are taking. The Community Health Worker is a frontline
public health worker and fundamental to implement Preventive medicine actions.
Presentation Description (500 word limit)
1. Participants learn strategies to help them deal with problems such as pain, fatigue, and
difficult emotions. Other topics include managing symptoms, managing medications,
working with health care providers, relaxation, healthy eating, and physical activity and
communicating with family and friends. If patients understand what their health issues are,
what their medications are and how to take them, there are better health outcomes and
fewer unscheduled visits to the physician’s office, fewer hospitalizations and emergency
room visits, “Improving health literacy has a huge impact on quality of care, patient
satisfaction and reducing health care costs.”
2. To empower people to take an active role in managing a chronic or long-term health
condition. Patient centered communication can enhance patient trust and promote active
patient involvement in the medical decision-making process. Health care reform includes
taking personal responsibility for your health. Patients must feel comfortable asking
questions and participating actively in their own care. Making the patient and family more
involved and participative in prevention and treatment. To empower people to take an
active role in managing a chronic or long-term health condition. Education includes taking

2. Marco Meneses,MPH,MS, CHW
personal responsibility for your health. Patients must feel comfortable asking questions and
participating actively in their own care.
3. Health Literacy, plain language, and culture. Health literacy is a strong predictor of a
person's health outcomes. To improve the quality and cultural competence of service
delivery. The ability to understand health information is the number one indicator of
positive health outcomes because so much of health care is about what we read and
understand.
4. Method: It includes the Ask-Tell-Ask, discuss and write the Action Plan, Close the Loop
and teach about Know Your numbers, Medication Reconciliation using Motivational
Interviewing
a) Motivational Interviewing: is a directive client-centered counseling style for eliciting
behavior change by helping clients to explore and resolve ambivalences. Compared
with nondirective counseling, it is more focused and goal oriented (Rollnick and Miller)
b) Action plan-The following visits is not a technical thing, is an educational process that
includes an evaluation of the patient’s attitudes, problems and roadblocks
implementing the ACTION PLAN and how the family is involved in the treatment
including medication, diet and exercise. Emphasis is placed on creating personal action
plans and setting practical, achievable goals.
c) Teach Back: is designed to verify that the patient understood what we said, after
explaining a treatment plan, we ask the patient to explain it all back. Teach Back is a
good tool for determining whether the patient navigator was successful in
communicating with the patient at an appropriate literacy level.
d) Know Your Numbers.
e) Medication Reconciliation—patients often report difficulties understanding written
information and instructions on prescription bottles. Plain language, write down
instructions.
5. Patient-Centered Model of Care. The Community Health Worker is part of the health
Care Team and is an active participant of the Huddles to share information, prioritize and
inform other members of educational activities with patients.
Learning Objectives:
 Promote understanding of key health concepts and practice skills of the Community Health
Workers,
 Foster attitudes, values, and beliefs that support positive health behaviors,
 Address the importance of patient personal competence, social competence and self-efficacy,
 Provide opportunities to make positive connections with influential others.