Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between lay health advocates and health outreach workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a lay health advocate and a health outreach worker. Additionally, a lay health advocate has an average salary of $35,126, which is higher than the $32,129 average annual salary of a health outreach worker.
The top three skills for a lay health advocate include patients, social work and substance abuse. The most important skills for a health outreach worker are patients, community health, and social work.
| Lay Health Advocate | Health Outreach Worker | |
| Yearly salary | $35,126 | $32,129 |
| Hourly rate | $16.89 | $15.45 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 62,717 | 85,592 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
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.
Lay health advocates and health outreach workers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lay Health Advocate | Health Outreach Worker | |
| Average salary | $35,126 | $32,129 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $44,000 | Between $25,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Johnston, RI | Eureka, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | NRDC | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Education | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a lay health advocate and a health outreach worker in terms of educational background:
| Lay Health Advocate | Health Outreach Worker | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Psychology | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between lay health advocates' and health outreach workers' demographics:
| Lay Health Advocate | Health Outreach Worker | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.9% Female, 74.1% | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 6.0% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 6.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 6.7% White, 51.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 21% | 21% |