Alaska Native Epidemiology Center

Activity Spotlight: Community Health Worker Training

View more at anthctoday.org/epicenter/wsh.html.

*This program made possible through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (GHWIC) Cooperative Agreement #DP005422.

- Background -The EpiCenter’s WSH Program promotes community-chosen and culturally-responsive PSE improvements to support healthy living and chronic disease prevention among Alaska Native and American Indian peoples. By providing leadership, technical assistance, and training opportunities to THOs statewide, WSH supports ANTHC’s vision that “Alaska Native people are the healthiest people in the world.”

The Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter) Wellness Strategies for Health (WSH) Program* offered an interactive training workshop at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s (ANTHC) Community Health Aide/Practitioner (CHA/P) Forum in March 2018. CHA/Ps are the primary health care providers in over 170 rural Alaska villages. This training provided over 80 CHA/Ps with the opportunity to learn about the policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change approaches to improving community health.

CHA/P Village Clinics

The workshop started with a brief overview of the PSE change model and the concept of “nudging”1 community members towards healthy behaviors. Next, the CHA/Ps divided into smaller groups to rotate through four presentations on Healthy Eating and Breastfeeding, Physical Activity, Health Literacy, and Tobacco. During these short sessions, CHA/Ps shared ideas to promote healthy behaviors in their clinics and communities, including asking about tobacco use at every visit.

1 Leonard, T. C. (2008). Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness.