We believe that collecting particular indicators, which focus on the wellbeing of CHWs and communities, will accomplish three important goals. First, it will help to preserve the integrity of the CHW role, by demonstrating why it is important for CHWs to play a wide range of roles, including roles as advocates and organizers. Second, indicators will validate the working conditions and environment that CHWs need to thrive, advance in their chosen profession, and make an optimal contribution to community health. Finally, by focusing on wellbeing outcomes that CHWs are uniquely able to achieve (as opposed to focusing only on economic outcomes that are important to health systems), they will provide additional evidence of the contributions CHWs can make to addressing the underlying determinants of health.
Adoption of some or all of these indicators for program monitoring and evaluation by state departments of health, community-based organizations, health systems, and other employers of CHWs, will contribute to the goal of building CHW infrastructure to sustain and finance the CHW workforce.
Download the 2023 CHW Common Indicators Guide: