Tackling Ethnic Health Disparities Through Community Health Worker Programs: A Scoping Review on Their Utilization During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has magnified existing health inequities linked to social determinants of health, with racial and ethnic minorities being disproportionately affected by the pandemic. A proposed strategy to address these inequities is based on the implementation of community health worker (CHW) programs able to bridge the gaps between marginalized communities and the formal health care systems. A scoping review was conducted through searching 4 databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Science Direct. Inclusion criteria focused on studies defining any kind of adopted CHW intervention to address inequities related to racial/ethnic groups during the COVID-19 crisis, published from December 31, 2019, to October 31, 2021. Narrative synthesis was undertaken to summarize the findings. In total, 23 studies met the inclusion out of the 107 search results. Data converged on the relevant potential of CHWs on engaging with community leaders, addressing social determinants of health, and issues related to structural racism, promoting culturally tailored health information, and encouraging institutions to policy change in favor of people left behind. Although vulnerability of racial and ethnic minorities was already present before the COVID-19 outbreak, the pandemic has represented a wakeup call to address it more efficiently. In recent years, CHWs have increasingly been acknowledged as valuable members of the health care workforce. As health disparities may increase after our multicultural societies begin to recover from COVID-19, CHWs may play a crucial role in addressing system-level changes to have broad and lasting effects on health outcomes.