What does a community health worker do?
A community health worker is a health professional who is a lay member of the community that provides health care in both urban and rural environments. Community health workers offer the health needs of the community they serve and provide some direct services such as first aid and blood pressure screening. They help people understand their health conditions and deliver health information by using appropriate cultural terms and concepts. Community health workers also make home visits to patients who are clinically ill, pregnant women, and individuals at high risk of health problems.
Community health worker responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real community health worker resumes:
- Lead process and counseling groups gear toward healing from both PTSD and substance dependence issues.
- Manage large databases, analyze records, perform literature reviews, prepare PowerPoint presentations, and interpret data for publication.
- Complete vitals on all patients and record vitals in EMR.
- Train and educate professionals on HIV prevention and testing in the community.
- Create program materials such as flyers, letters, banners, handouts, etc.
- Assess asthma control by completing questionnaires during home visits and communicating this information via EMR.
- Provide information and education to the program for CHW's as well as the medical teams as requested.
- Coordinate and monitor the scheduling, performance measures, training, and service provision of the CHW program.
- Educate families on chronic disease management, medication management, triage clients and refer to doctor as indicated.
- Prepare and conduct PowerPoint presentations to non- profit organizations.
- Provide vocational rehabilitation counseling services to veterans with disabilities.
- Identify medical crisis during triage and provide immediate medical care.
- Facilitate partnerships with other HIV early-intervention and prevention programs and agencies.
- Facilitate group - level educational workshops on asthma, diabetes and hypertension management.
- Assist Medicaid members in contacting case workers regarding eligibility issues and follow ups.
Community health worker skills and personality traits
We calculated that 13% of Community Health Workers are proficient in Patients, Community Health, and Social Work. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Instructional skills, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Community Health Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 13%
Prepared patients for abortion procedures; assisted doctor and performed ultrasounds during procedures; supported women physically and emotionally after abortions.
- Community Health, 12%
Supervised and managed Community Health Workers implementing interventions geared towards improvement and management of chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes.
- Social Work, 8%
Assisted teachers and Social Workers in developing and implementing behavioral modification systems.
- Community Resources, 7%
Provided relevant crisis intervention, advocacy and referrals when appropriate and assist clients in identification and coordination of appropriate community resources.
- CHW, 5%
Attended biweekly CMMI report out meetings with management team to report CHW milestones and barriers at the 3 pilot sites.
- Social Services, 4%
Connected and identified adults in need of health and social services to their Primary Care Provider at each respective clinic.
Common skills that a community health worker uses to do their job include "patients," "community health," and "social work." You can find details on the most important community health worker responsibilities below.
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a community health worker to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "health education specialists collect and evaluate data to determine the needs of the people they serve." Additionally, a community health worker resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "maintain databases, mailing lists, telephone networks, and other information to facilitate the functioning of health education programs. "
Instructional skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling community health worker duties is instructional skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health education specialists and community health workers lead programs, teach classes, and facilitate discussion with clients and families." According to a community health worker resume, here's how community health workers can utilize instructional skills in their job responsibilities: "led individual and group therapy sessions, and one-hour instructional courses on numerous psychology topics. "
Interpersonal skills. community health workers are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to community health worker responsibilities, because "health education specialists and community health workers interact with many people from a variety of backgrounds." A community health worker resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "use strong interpersonal skills during administration of intake assessments for all detainees of diverse populations. "
Problem-solving skills. community health worker responsibilities often require "problem-solving skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "health education specialists and community health workers must think creatively about improving the health of the community." This resume example shows what community health workers do with problem-solving skills on a typical day: "implement treatment plans as developed by case clinicians in school and assist in conflict resolution. "
Communication skills. Another skill commonly found on community health worker job descriptions is "communication skills." It can come up quite often in community health worker duties, since "health education specialists and community health workers must be able to clearly convey information in health-related materials and in written proposals for programs and funding." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day community health worker responsibilities: "direct communication with clients via letters, phone calls and home visits. "
The three companies that hire the most community health workers are:
- Evolent Health151 community health workers jobs
- UnitedHealth Group88 community health workers jobs
- Elevance Health
57 community health workers jobs
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Compare different community health workers
Community health worker vs. Assistant director of nutrition and wellness programs
A health educator is responsible for promoting a healthy lifestyle and wellness by developing programs and practices to improve an individual's physical, emotional, and mental condition, recommending a various approach to deal with stress and anxiety, and other situations affecting the clients' behaviors. Health educators record the clients' progress, educate them about healthy strategies and approaches, and coordinate with other health specialists and medical professionals on disseminating health information. A health educator must have excellent communication skills, especially during public speaking and seminars for health education programs.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a community health worker are more likely to require skills like "patients," "community health," "social work," and "community resources." On the other hand, a job as an assistant director of nutrition and wellness programs requires skills like "corporate wellness programs," "health education programs," "mental health," and "data collection." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Assistant directors of nutrition and wellness programs tend to reach higher levels of education than community health workers. In fact, assistant directors of nutrition and wellness programs are 5.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 4.0% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Community health worker vs. Health educator
A lay health advocate helps the patients prepare for medical appointments, update and organize physicians' information. After the medical appointments, a lay health advocate offers follow-up care services by monitoring patient conditions and ensuring they follow all treatment recommendations. They assist patients in scheduling additional appointments and arrange their medications. These professionals advise patients on the best ways to maintain control over medical care and prevent more medical issues like fall injuries.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real community health worker resumes. While community health worker responsibilities can utilize skills like "chw," "social services," "health education," and "care coordination," health educators use skills like "health promotion," "health education programs," "weight management," and "mental health."
On average, health educators earn a higher salary than community health workers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, health educators earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $44,289. Whereas community health workers have higher pay in the insurance industry, with an average salary of $37,529.In general, health educators achieve higher levels of education than community health workers. They're 7.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 4.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Community health worker vs. Lay health advocate
Community health workers are health care professionals who are responsible for assisting individuals and communities in adopting health behaviors by outreaching health organizations to implement health programs. These health workers are required to provide basic health care services and perform basic diagnostic procedures such as screening of blood pressure, breast cancer, or communicable disease. They must also identify the particular health care needs of individuals in the community and as well as visit their homes to provide support or information. Community health workers must also arrange transportation to clients who have health appointments or referral sites.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, community health workers are more likely to have skills like "community health," "chw," "care coordination," and "primary care." But a lay health advocate is more likely to have skills like "behavioral health," "hipaa," "mental illness," and "mental health issues."
Lay health advocates make a very good living in the education industry with an average annual salary of $36,985. On the other hand, community health workers are paid the highest salary in the insurance industry, with average annual pay of $37,529.lay health advocates typically earn similar educational levels compared to community health workers. Specifically, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Community health worker vs. Health outreach worker
Types of community health worker
Updated January 8, 2025
