Community health workers navigate a variety of challenges each day, from educating the public about communicable diseases to engaging directly with clients who are trying to access healthcare services. To effectively do their jobs, they must have one key skill: the ability to communicate complex health information in a clear, culturally sensitive and accessible way.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online Master of Science (M.S.) in Community Health program recognizes this need to develop clear communication skills, providing students with the tools to succeed in their future career paths. By focusing on health communication, the program equips its graduates to improve health outcomes and reduce disparities in the communities they serve.
What Does a Community Health Worker Do?
Community health workers are often considered the connectors between healthcare access and education, according to Indeed. As frontline public health workers, they often work directly with communities, building trust and fostering relationships that encourage individuals to engage with healthcare services.
The American Hospital Association notes that community health workers apply “non-clinical approaches for improving health, preventing disease and reducing health disparities through addressing social, behavioral, environmental, economic and medical determinants of health in a geographically defined population.” In practice, their jobs entail organizing public health campaigns and hosting seminars that help their organization’s clients or community members learn more about a specific healthcare issue. Those issues could include everything from nutrition and access to healthy food to substance abuse prevention and sexual health, especially HIV/AIDS prevention.
These professionals often also conduct surveys about the effectiveness of such campaigns and turn those results into more effective messaging to reach people who could benefit from increased health resources. Community health workers frequently connect people to social services and schedule doctor appointments and immunizations. They also interact with policymakers, health centers and healthcare providers to ensure community members’ voices are heard.
Community health workers can find employment across the healthcare sector, including nonprofit organizations, social service agencies, government health departments and healthcare facilities. Demand for their expertise is growing due to a continued emphasis on disease prevention and coordinating care, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
BLS reports that employment in the field is expected to grow 13% over the next decade, much faster than the average for all occupations. Community health workers can expect to make a median salary of $48,200 each year, with opportunities for growth as they rise in their careers.
Why Is Effective Communication Important?
While the work of community health workers is vital, their ability to communicate effectively determines their success. Without strong communication skills, community health workers may struggle to reach their communities, educate them on critical health issues or advocate on their behalf. Effective communication is at the core of their ability to optimize processes, enhance outreach efforts and ultimately improve health outcomes.
The World Health Organization (WHO) notes that the full power of strategic communications to improve public health outcomes is not yet fully realized. That’s why the international health organization has deployed its Communication for Health (C4H) approach, focusing on planning, developing, testing and implementing the communication intervention before evaluating and measuring campaign outcomes.
This approach has been effective in the digital age, as more and more people make health decisions via smartphone app or text message. In China, the WHO used the C4H strategy to prompt users ordering food delivery through an app to reduce their salt intake. Community health workers also used the framework to create a television and radio drama that increased awareness of prenatal care and reduced high maternal mortality rates in Papua New Guinea.
These examples show the growing power of developing communication skills that range from verbal and written to digital and cultural. Students in Southeastern’s online M.S. in Community Health program have the opportunity to delve deeper into communication and media theory in their Health Communication course.
Rising leaders learn how to develop preventative and maintenance healthcare messages, select appropriate media channels to deliver those messages and communicate with difficult-to-reach audiences. They also study the social structures that shape healthcare promotion and how they can best navigate communication challenges across different demographic groups.
Stand Out in the Community Health Field With Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Professionals in the community health field must have the necessary communication skills to optimize processes, collaborate with others and prioritize patient well-being. By homing in on their students’ health communication skills, Southeastern’s online M.S. in Community Health program ensures its graduates are ready to make a lasting impact in their communities by delivering healthcare messages that resonate with their clients.
Learn more about Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online Master of Science in Community Health program.