Community Health Roles Explained
Community Health Worker, Community Health Navigator, Community Health Advocate: what’s the difference?
These roles often overlap, but each plays a unique part in supporting patients and communities:
Community health workers (CHW) are a recognized workforce formally defined by the CDC and many state certification programs. They provide education, outreach, and connections to services, often coming from shared lived experience and the communities they serve.
Community health navigators (CHN) specialize in guiding individuals through complex healthcare systems. They help with scheduling, appointments, insurance, referrals, follow-up care, and overcoming barriers to care. They focus on individual case navigation.
Community health advocates focus on empowerment and policy change. They help communities speak up, access resources, and influence systems, whether or not it’s a formal job title.
Together, they form a network of care, access, and empowerment. We need more deaf healthcare workers to help make healthcare more equitable and patient-centered.
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Transcript and Video Description
[Video Description: The post has a video thumbnail with blue shading overlaid. The middle has a text bubble that reads “Community Health Roles Explained” in white text with rose background. In the video: Bee, a white nonbinary queer person, looks at the camera while signing “explained.” They wear a purple button-up shirt over a black shirt and rainbow glasses. The screen fades to show a thumbnail of a faded white background of a doctor holding hands with another individual] Deaf. Healthy. DeafHealth. Learn more at www.deafhealthaccess.org.]
[Transcript: Community Health Worker (CHW)? Community Health Navigator (CHN)? Community Health Advocate? It can be confusing! Let’s break it down. (TEXT ON SCREEN)
Community Health workers (CHW) are trusted community members that provide connections to health care, such as guiding someone with diabetes on healthy eating, connecting families to Medicaid, or providing accessible health information in their language.
Community Health navigators guide people through the healthcare system, such as helping with schedule appointments, fill out insurance paperwork, or getting language access or accommodations.
Community Health advocates amplify patient input/perspectives (voices) — such as pushing for policies that help expand access to healthy food, ensuring deaf rights are respected in healthcare, and pushing for systemic change.
Community health workers care. Navigators guide. Advocates fight for you.
Together, they make healthcare more accessible.]