Feasibility of health adviser networks in underserved communities

The purpose of this project is to build on a promising pilot effort in Delta Hills Public Health District in Mississippi. The pilot project trained a network of 89 volunteer community health advisors (CHAN) who are reaching over one half of the target county's low-income population through a collaborative effort with the local health department and local health and social service agency providers. The project is designed to test whether partnerships with communities and local and state agencies can be replicated more broadly in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The project will: identify additional communities interested in developing CHAN projects; negotiate agreements with state and local health agencies that include a commitment to provide financial resources to help support the new CHAN projects; develop marketing materials and a selection process to enhance the replication process; further develop its training capacity by developing a community facilitator training manual and a program operations resource guide; develop field monitoring systems for the additional projects; finalize the assessment of the pilot project; and develop the evaluation framework for the replication phase. This project presents an opportunity to see whether the necessary community support, volunteer staffing and funding infrastructure can be built to replicate in four southern states.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $163,200.00

Awarded on: 7/23/1992

Time frame: 9/1/1992 - 3/31/1994

Grant Number: 20096