Impact of a Community Health Worker Program to Support Caregivers of Children With Special Health Care Needs and Address Social Determinants of Health.
Few studies have evaluated the effects of a community health worker (CHW) intervention on social determinants and caregiver distress. This study assesses the impact of a CHW program for caregivers of children with special health care needs (CSHCN) on these factors in addition to confidence in self-management. A retrospective, pre-post analysis was conducted for those who completed a CHW program. Caregivers reported high levels of distress, low educational attainment, linguistic isolation, positive depression screens, and food and housing issues at baseline. On completion of the program, there was significant improvement in caregiver distress scores (P < .001) and in understanding of their children's diagnoses (P < .001). Furthermore, the number of caregivers reporting food or housing issues was significantly reduced (P < .01 and P < .01, respectively). This study demonstrates the feasibility and potential effects of a CHW intervention for CSHCN and highlights the need for a large-scale controlled trial to further evaluate impact.
['Costich|Marguerite A|MA|0000-0002-2955-3755', 'Peretz|Patricia J|PJ|', 'Davis|Jaimee A|JA|', 'Stockwell|Melissa S|MS|', 'Matiz|Luz A|LA|0000-0003-2932-1337']
D000328:Adult D017028:Caregivers D002648:Child D000067576:Child Health D002675:Child, Preschool D003153:Community Health Services D003150:Community Health Workers D003866:Depressive Disorder D004522:Educational Status D005260:Female D005523:Food Supply D006798:Housing D006801:Humans D008297:Male D009518:New York D015397:Program Evaluation D000079225:Psychological Distress D012189:Retrospective Studies D064890:Social Determinants of Health D012944:Social Support
community health workers children with special health care needs social determinants caregiver distress health care delivery