Expanding the Community Health Worker / Promotor / Representative Workforce

CHW/Ps build relationships with people that add to their quality of life and, in some situations, save lives.

—Joe Calderon, community health worker

Defining the CHW/P/R Workforce

A community health worker (CHW) is a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of and/or has an unusually close understanding of the community served. A promotor/a (P) is a trusted person that empowers their peers through education and connections to health and social resources. They largely work in Latino/x and Spanish-speaking communities. The R stands for community health representatives (CHRs), who do similar work in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. CHCF’s use of this abbreviation and inclusion of CHRs is shifting. As of April 2023, we added CHRs to honor the important role and long history of CHRs in the United States and California.

Community health workers, promotores, and community health representatives (CHW/P/Rs) provide culturally congruent, person-centered services that bridge different health and social services systems and improve the health and well-being of the people they serve. They play a vital role in promoting health and well-being, particularly in communities that have not been well served by the health care system. Health care is one of many systems that perpetuate structural racism and engender stark inequities in health care and outcomes.

Because of their ability to establish trusting relationships with the people they serve, CHW/P/Rs are uniquely positioned to bridge the divides between the health care system and diverse communities in order to achieve health equity. CHW/P/Rs perform a variety of formal roles, from supporting care transitions and referrals, to encouraging and educating patients on how to take care of their own health. CHCF is committed to furthering the integration of CHW/P/Rs into care delivery systems in California.

Visit our CHW/P Workforce in Medi-Cal Resource Center