Rohan Elizabeth A, Townsend Julie S, Torres Andrea, Thompson Hope L, Holman Dawn M, Reza Avid, Tharpe Felicia Solomon, Caple Erin, Wennerstrom Ashley
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE, MS S107-4, Chamblee, GA 30341-3717 (
Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia.
Prev Chronic Dis. 2025 Jul 24;22:E47. doi: 10.5888/pcd22.240441.
Community health workers (CHWs) can improve health by helping people navigate health care services and systems and connecting them to community services that address nonmedical factors such as food insecurity, housing, and transportation. While CHWs have long been part of the US public health system, there are no data, to our knowledge, on the public's familiarity and interactions with CHWs.
We analyzed data from the 2022 Porter Novelli FallStyles and Estilos surveys, online market research surveys of the general public delivered in English (FallStyles) or primarily Spanish (Estilos). Each survey asked the same 4 questions on familiarity and interactions with CHWs, including, for respondents reporting having interacted with CHWs, the types of issues CHWs helped them with.
Of 3,410 FallStyles respondents, 52.1% were familiar with CHWs, and 16.7% had interacted with a CHW. Of 954 Estilos respondents, 62.4% were familiar with CHWs, and 42.0% had interacted with a CHW. Among respondents who indicated being helped by CHWs, the majority encountered CHWs in health care settings (60.8% of FallStyles respondents; 64.2% of Estilos respondents) and less than one-quarter reported encountering CHWs in their community or place of worship (21% of FallStyles respondents; 22.2% of Estilos respondents).
A large proportion of people who are Hispanic or Latino are familiar with or have had interactions with CHWs. The low levels of familiarity with CHWs among FallStyles respondents highlight opportunities for greater public awareness and understanding of the multifaceted role and scope of the CHW workforce across public health, health care, and community settings to enhance the health and wellness of all people.
社区卫生工作者（CHWs）可以通过帮助人们了解医疗保健服务和系统，并将他们与解决粮食不安全、住房和交通等非医疗因素的社区服务联系起来，从而改善健康状况。虽然社区卫生工作者长期以来一直是美国公共卫生系统的一部分，但据我们所知，尚无关于公众对社区卫生工作者的熟悉程度及互动情况的数据。
我们分析了2022年波特诺维利秋季风尚（FallStyles）和风格（Estilos）调查的数据，这是针对普通公众的在线市场研究调查，以英文（秋季风尚）或主要以西班牙文（风格）进行。每项调查都询问了关于对社区卫生工作者的熟悉程度及互动情况的相同4个问题，对于报告与社区卫生工作者有过互动的受访者，还询问了社区卫生工作者帮助他们解决的问题类型。
在3410名秋季风尚调查受访者中，52.1%的人熟悉社区卫生工作者，16.7%的人曾与社区卫生工作者互动过。在954名风格调查受访者中，62.4%的人熟悉社区卫生工作者，42.0%的人曾与社区卫生工作者互动过。在表示得到社区卫生工作者帮助的受访者中，大多数人是在医疗保健场所遇到社区卫生工作者的（秋季风尚调查受访者中的60.8%；风格调查受访者中的64.2%），不到四分之一的人报告是在社区或礼拜场所遇到社区卫生工作者的（秋季风尚调查受访者中的21%；风格调查受访者中的22.2%）。
很大一部分西班牙裔或拉丁裔人熟悉社区卫生工作者或与他们有过互动。秋季风尚调查受访者中对社区卫生工作者的熟悉程度较低，这凸显了提高公众对社区卫生工作者在公共卫生、医疗保健和社区环境中的多方面作用和范围的认识和理解的机会，以促进所有人的健康和福祉。
