Community Health Worker / Promotor(a) Resources
This page provides information about Community Health Worker / Promotor(a) Resources .
Community Health Worker / Promotor(a) Resources
A community health worker or promotor(a) is defined here as a person who, with or without compensation,
- provides cultural mediation between their communities and health and human service systems.
- provides informal counseling and social support;
- provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health education;
- advocates for individual and community needs;
- assures people get the services they need;
- builds individual and community capacity;
- or provides referral and follow-up services.
External links to other sites are intended to be informational. These sites may also not be accessible to people
For further information on promotoras/es and community health workers training and certification program in Texas, go to the Texas Department of State Health Services Community Health Worker or Promotor(a) Training and Certification Program webpage.
The Medical and Research Librarians have selected this chronological list of journal citations and/or reports in the Promotor(a) or Community Health Worker Training and Certification Program.
A randomized pilot study of a community health worker-delivered nutrition intervention for low-income adults with hypertension. Gu KD, Cheng J, Bejarano O, et al. Contemp Clin Trials. Published online January 27, 2026. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2026.108244
Community health workers serving veterans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a pilot intervention development and feasibility study. Kramer CB, Rao M, Coultas DB, et al. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2026 Jan 3. doi: 10.1186/s40814-025-01711-8. Epub ahead of print.
Feasibility of an adaptive food insecurity intervention for patients with uncontrolled hypertension: a pilot SMART. Palakshappa D, Quinones S, Elashker AL, et al. Popul Health Manag. 2025 Dec 24. doi: 10.1177/19427891251405879
Integrating hepatitis c virus services for people who use drugs into inpatient substance use disorder treatment programs via telehealth. Riazi F, Green C, Smalls S, et al. Telemed J E Health. 2025 Dec 22. doi: 10.1177/15305627251406807. Epub ahead of print.
Effectiveness of a community health worker-delivered depression intervention for uninsured Latine immigrants. Sánchez González ML, Guerrero Vazquez M, Maksym M, Dorado Novoa M, Polk S. J Community Health. 2025 Dec 22. doi: 10.1007/s10900-025-01542-x. Epub ahead of print.
Adaptation of Navigate-Kidney: a community health worker intervention for people with kidney disease. Cervantes L, Rizzolo K, Ressalam J, et al. Kidney Int Rep. 2025 Nov 7;11(1):62-75. doi: 10.1016/j.ekir.2025.10.011
Empowering community health workers in dementia care in South Texas. Santiago-Mejias S, Rhodes SL, Epps FR, et al. J Alzheimers Dis. 2025 Nov;108(2):546-551. doi: 10.1177/13872877251378463 Epub 2025 Sep 24.
Community health worker roles in intervention delivery: a scoping review of heart disease and stroke prevention trials in the United States. Naqvi IA, Bassile CC, Ebadi SR, et al. Front Stroke. 2025 Oct 2;4:1658612. doi: 10.3389/fstro.2025.1658612
Program implementation and evaluation of De Casa en Casa: a tailored community-based cervical cancer screening program for underserved Hispanic women. Calderón-Mora J, Molokwu J, Byrd TL, et al. Health Educ Res. 2025 Sep 29;40(6):cyaf055. doi: 10.1093/her/cyaf055. PMID: 41364926
Generational perspectives and advocacy barriers among community health workers: implications for public health workforce leadership. Gines V, Rodriguez J, Lobaina D, Sacca L, Torres M, Mejia MC. Front Public Health. 2025 Aug 12;13:1616506. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1616506
Framework, design, and baseline data of a collective impact initiative to strengthen the community health worker workforce ecosystem in Texas. Sharma SV, McPherson HH, John J, et al. BMC Public Health. 2025 Feb 15;25(1):630. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-21812-6
From the ground up: building andimplementing a successful CHW/promotor(a) program for cancer screening, training, education, and prevention. Brandford A, Sanchez M, Pitones P, Bolin J. Health Promot Pract. Published online January 6, 2025. doi:10.1177/15248399241308198
Barriers and facilitators to implementing an evidence-based Community Health Worker model. Schriger SH, Knowles M, Daglieri T, Kangovi S, Beidas RS. JAMA Health Forum. 2024 Mar 1;5(3):e240034. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2024.0034
Adapting e-cigarette prevention programming to reach the latinx community. Herrmann AK, Ferullo SL, Hernandez M, et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2024 Mar;35(3):405-416. doi: 10.1007/s10552-023-01796-7
A review of community health worker integration in health departments. Ignoffo S, Gu S, Ellyin A, Benjamins MR. J Community Health. 2024;49(2):366-376. Epub 2023 Oct 12. doi:10.1007/s10900-023-01286-6
Promotoras represent a community in pain. Marquez C, Kazmierski K, Carballo JA, et al. J Lat Psychol. 2023;11(2):148-165. doi:10.1037/lat0000224
Health care impacts of resource navigation for health-related social needs in the accountable health communities model. Parish W, Beil H, He F, et al. Health Affairs. 2023;42(6):822-831. Epub 2023 May 17. doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01502
Community health worker integration with and effectiveness in health care and public health in the United States. Knowles M, Crowley AP, Vasan A, Kangovi S. Annu Rev Public Health. 2023;44:363-381. doi:10.1146/annurev-publhealth-071521-031648
Impact of delivering a healthy lifestyle intervention: promotora findings from Familias Sanas y Activas II. Madanat H, Martinez A, Molina M, Ayala GX. J Health Sci Educ. 2023;1(3):1-7.
Care management for patients with type 2 diabetes: the roles of nurses, pharmacists, and social workers. Bodenheimer TS & Willard-Grace R. Health Affairs. 2022;41(7):947-954. doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00227
Impact of community health workers on access to care for rural populations in the United States: a systematic review. Berini CR, Bonilha HS, Simpson AN. J Community Health. 2022;47(3):539-553. doi:10.1007/s10900-021-01052-6
Community health worker sustainability: funding, payment, and reimbursement laws in the United States. Schmit CD, Washburn DJ, LaFleur M, Martinez D, Thompson E, Callaghan T. Public Health Rep. 2022;137(3):597-603.
doi:10.1177/00333549211006072
Community health worker impact on knowledge, antenatal care, and birth outcomes: a systematic review. Scharff D, Enard KR, Tao D, Strand G, Yakubu R, Cope V. Matern Child Health J. 2022;26(1):79-101. doi:10.1007/s10995-021-03299-w
Latino health access: comparative effectiveness of a community-initiated promotor/a-led diabetes self-management education program. Slater A, Cantero PJ, Alvarez G, Cervantes BS, Bracho A, Billimek J. Fam Community Health. 2022;45(1):34-45. doi:10.1097/FCH.0000000000000311
Processes for implementing community health worker workforce development initiatives. Barbero C, Mason T, Rush C, et al. Front Public Health. 2021;9:659017.
doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.659017
Community health worker leadership in Louisiana, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Haywood CG, Feist DR, Sugarman MK, Ezouah P, Wennerstrom A. Am J Public Health. 2020;110(10):1498-1499. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305741
Evidence-based community health worker program addresses unmet social needs and generates positive return on investment. Kangovi S, Mitra N, Grande D, et al.
Health Affairs. 2020;39(2):207-213.
doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00981
The Medical and Research Librarians have selected these resources on the Promotor(a) or Community Health Worker.
Community Health Worker (CHW) Resources
These resources are collected from programs across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that host materials pertinent to CHWs. These resources should be helpful not only to CHWs, but also to those who work with them.
Diffusion of Community Health Workers within Medicaid Managed Care: A Strategy to Address Social Determinants of Health. Carolina Nkouaga, Arthur Kaufman, Charlie Alfero, and Claudia Medina, Health Affairs Blog.
Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention: Interventions Engaging Community Health Workers. The Community Guide, March 2015.
National Rural Health Association (NRHA) provides information on:
- Rural Community Health Initiative
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Policy Papers like Community Health Workers: Recommendations for Bridging Healthcare Gaps in Rural America
State Approaches to Community Health Worker Certification (June 2022).
Each state that has developed a CHW certification program, however, has taken its own approach to setting requirements for certification and determining how to administer the program.
State Community Health Worker Policies. (Apr. 2025). National Academy of State Health Policy.
The chart below offers more details on state CHW models, including state definitions, certification and training, Medicaid reimbursement, other funding mechanisms, key partnerships, and state legislation.