Community Health Workers

Promoting Healthy Communities 

Promote wellness and healthy living as a community health worker and Hardin-Simmons graduate. Your career might look like advocating for health needs, assisting citizens with navigating healthcare systems, and implementing preventive health programs. Your efforts will contribute to improved public health and well-being. 

What to Expect

51k

$51,030 Median Annual Salary

Bright

New job opportunities are very likely in the future.

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What you Should Know

  • Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
  • English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
  • Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
  • Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
  • Medicine and Dentistry: Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
  • Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
  • Administrative: Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  • Computers and Electronics: Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Personnel and Human Resources: Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
  • Therapy and Counseling: Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
  • Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
  • Biology: Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Sales and Marketing: Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
  • Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Philosophy and Theology: Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
  • Communications and Media: Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
  • Sociology and Anthropology: Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
  • Foreign Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
  • Law and Government: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
  • Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
  • Telecommunications: Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
  • Chemistry: Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
  • Economics and Accounting: Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
  • Transportation: Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
  • Design: Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Food Production: Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
  • Geography: Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
  • Fine Arts: Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
  • History and Archeology: Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
  • Engineering and Technology: Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
  • Mechanical: Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
  • Physics: Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
  • Building and Construction: Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

Programs Related to this Career

Nursing-Bachelor of Science

BSN

Social Work Program

BBS, BS

Biology Degree

BA, BS

Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling

MA

Your Day to Day

  • Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to improving general health, such as diet or exercise.
  • Identify or contact members of high-risk or otherwise targeted groups, such as members of minority populations, low-income populations, or pregnant women.
  • Contact clients in person, by phone, or in writing to ensure they have completed required or recommended actions.
  • Distribute flyers, brochures, or other informational or educational documents to inform members of a targeted community.
  • Refer community members to needed health services.
  • Attend community meetings or health fairs to understand community issues or build relationships with community members.
  • Perform basic diagnostic procedures, such as blood pressure screening, breast cancer screening, or communicable disease screening.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to diagnostic screenings, such as breast cancer screening, pap smears, glaucoma tests, or diabetes screenings.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to risk or prevention of conditions, such as lead poisoning, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), prenatal substance abuse, or domestic violence.
  • Administer immunizations or other basic preventive treatments.
  • Identify the particular health care needs of individuals in a community or target area.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to self-care, such as diabetes management.
  • Conduct home visits for pregnant women, newborn infants, or other high-risk individuals to monitor their progress or assess their needs.
  • Transport or accompany clients to scheduled health appointments or referral sites.
  • Advocate for individual or community health needs with government agencies or health service providers.
  • Report incidences of child or elder abuse, neglect, or threats of harm to authorities, as required.
  • Teach classes or otherwise disseminate medical or dental health information to school groups, community groups, or targeted families or individuals, in a manner consistent with cultural norms.
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to sanitation or hygiene, such as flossing or hand washing.
  • Collect information from individuals to compile vital statistics about the general health of community members.
  • Assist families to apply for social services, including Medicaid or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
  • Advise clients or community groups on issues related to social or intellectual development, such as education, childcare, or problem solving.
  • Provide basic health services, such as first aid.
  • Interpret, translate, or provide cultural mediation related to health services or information for community members.
  • Monitor nutrition of children, elderly, or other high-risk groups.
  • Advise clients or community groups to ensure parental understanding of the importance of childhood immunizations and how to access immunization services.
  • Develop plans or formal contracts for individuals, families, or community groups to improve overall health.
  • Provide feedback to health service providers regarding improving service accessibility or acceptability.

Helpful Skills & Abilities

  • Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others’ actions.
  • Complex Problem Solving: Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
  • Persuasion: Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • Judgment and Decision Making: Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Monitoring: Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
  • Systems Analysis: Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
  • Management of Personnel Resources: Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
  • Systems Evaluation: Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Negotiation: Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
  • Operations Monitoring: Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
  • Management of Financial Resources: Determining how money will be spent to get the work done, and accounting for these expenditures.
  • Management of Material Resources: Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
  • Operation and Control: Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
  • Quality Control Analysis: Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
  • Troubleshooting: Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
  • Programming: Writing computer programs for various purposes.
  • Technology Design: Generating or adapting equipment and technology to serve user needs.
  • Operations Analysis: Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
  • Science: Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
  • Equipment Maintenance: Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
  • Equipment Selection: Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
  • Installation: Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or programs to meet specifications.
  • Repairing: Repairing machines or systems using the needed tools.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without “giving out” or fatiguing.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one’s side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.

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