The best Community Health Workers often share five important qualities.
Here are five important qualities many of the best Community Health Workers possess:
- Relationship-building: In Community Health Workers often need to be entrenched within the communities they serve and are connected to those within the community.
- Empathy: The most successful professionals in this field are those who have a genuine compassion for the individuals they serve. For some, this empathy stems from growing up with similar circumstances. Others just have an innate ability to put themselves in the shoes of others.
- Trustworthiness: Once a relationship has been established, community health workers are entrusted with sensitive information regarding their participants. Community Health Workers help participants feel comfortable to confide in them; they are honest, approachable, and offer complete confidentiality.
- Persistence: A lot of the initiatives Community Health Workers support are things that take time and stamina. Whether it’s advocating for community health needs or assisting individuals with social services applications, Community Health Workers remain steadfast in their actions in order to see things through.
- Resourcefulness: There is not always a clear-cut solution to the issues Community Health Workers help participants overcome. Sometimes they have to get crafty to piece together the right resources to help an individual gain access to the care they need. It’s important for Community Health Workers to have a solid understanding of all of the possible options available and be able to navigate the landscape of healthcare, government, and social services to offer the best support to participants.