Resources for Community Health Workers
As a community health worker (CHW), you play a vital role in the health of the communities you serve. These resources have been created to help you meet people where they are, help them reach their health goals, and ultimately, allow them to thrive.
CHW Education Programs
These free education courses on the ADA’s Institute of Learning provide an opportunity to advance your knowledge of diabetes care.
Standards of Care in Diabetes (Standards of Care)
Our Standards of Care highlights the importance of CHWs, including:
- CHWs, peer supporters, and lay leaders may assist in the delivery of diabetes self-management and education and support (DSMES) services, particularly in underserved communities.
- CHWs can be part of a cost-effective, evidence-based strategy to improve the management of diabetes and cardiovascular risk factors in underserved communities and health care systems.
- The CHW scope of practice in areas such as outreach and communication, advocacy, social support, basic health education, referrals to community clinics, etc., has been successful in providing social and primary preventive services to underserved populations in rural and hard-to-reach communities.
The Standards of Care also cover key topics such as the prevention or delay of type 2 diabetes, facilitating behavior change and wellbeing to improve health outcomes, diabetes management during pregnancy, and more.
Eye Health and Diabetes
Diabetes is the leading cause of vision loss in people 18–64 years old. And there are often no obvious signs or symptoms. But the great news is, an annual routine eye exam can help identify existing eye disease so the people you see can take steps to prevent or delay vision loss caused by diabetes. Our resources include professional education, webinars, and patient education.
Know Diabetes by Heart™
To support you and your organization or health system, explore the newest resources curated to support a heart-healthy lifestyle tailored for your patients living with type 2 diabetes:
- Video library: From questions to ask their doctor to who should be included on their health care team, there’s a lot that goes into thriving after a type 2 diagnosis. Fortunately, these videos are designed to get them feeling confident about taking an active role in their health.
- Recipes: Good nutrition is one way to reduce their risk of developing heart disease and stroke. But eating a healthy, balanced diet can be a challenge. Making these tasty dishes at home can help them manage your diabetes.
- Let’s Talk About Diabetes, Heart Disease, & Stroke: This online journey will take them through their risk for heart disease and stroke, and what they can do about it. Available in English or Spanish.
Women’s Health Initiative
Maternal care contributes to child survival, reduction in maternal infections, neonatal morbidity, and mortality. The ADA recognizes women’s health deserves individualized study, care, and advancement in the areas of diabetes in pregnancy, including gestational diabetes (GDM). Our resources include professional education, webinars, and patient education.
Patient Education Library
Our Patient Education Library has more than 170 free downloadable or printable materials (PDFs) on a range of diabetes-related topics. We encourage you to share these with your patients/clients. Materials are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.
Infographics
These infographics on a wide array of diabetes education can be used to help educate your patients about their diabetes in a simplified, visual format.
Diabetes Placemats
These provide a simple guide to planning meals and managing portions and are a great resource for health educators and patients. The sample pack of seven include, Classic, Southern, Hispanic, Vegetarian, Asian, Indian, and Pacific Islander.
Diabetes Education Recruitment Tips for CHWs
Suggestions from the National Association of Community Health Care Workers on how to enroll participants in diabetes education.