A comprehensive guide for anyone working toward a rewarding and impactful career as a community health worker

This new third edition of Foundations for Community Health Workers offers a comprehensive introduction to the essential skills community health workers need to be effective professionals. Updated to reflect the realities of public and community health today, this respected text emphasizes social justice and person-centered practice throughout.

With contributions from experts in the field, this book:

• Introduces the core competencies needed to effectively promote community health, including person-centered counseling, case management, and home visiting
• Develops professional skills such as effective communication, conflict resolution, stress management, supporting trauma recovery, and building a successful career
• Offers new information on key health issues and practical guidance for working with communities in the roles of organizer, facilitator, and advocate

Included with Foundations for Community Health Workers are short educational videos that illustrate essential concepts and skills. The companion Training Guide includes step-by-step lesson plans, case studies, role plays, assessments, and video tutorials, with links to even more resources for teaching and training community health workers. Learners will leave equipped to create a healthier and more just world.

“As a Community Health Worker working in diverse programs for 25 years, I’ve had many opportunities to apply the information within the Foundations for Community Health Workers to inform my CHW-focused grant writing, program development and training... I’m thrilled to see this book continue to contribute to CHWs’ collective movement for self-determination, self-actualization, respect and equity.”
— Denise Octavia Smith, MBA, CHW, PN Executive Director, National Association of Community Health Workers

“The textbook provides a valuable competency- centered tool that embraces all that the C3 Project promotes - supporting a comprehensive curriculum for both learners and educators in community-based and formal educational settings.”
—The Community Health Worker Core Consensus Project (C3)