- Homelessness during COVID-19: challenges, responses, and lessons learned from homeless service providers in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
We conducted a community-based participatory research study examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people experiencing homelessness in Tippecanoe, Indiana. Read about the study and our findings in BMC Public Health.
- Community Health Workers in the United States: Time to Expand a Critical Workforce
Our Director, Natalia Rodriguez, writes about the importance of expanding the CHW workforce. Read the full editorial published in the American Journal of Public Health.
- Impact of COVID-19 on People Experiencing Homelessness: A Call for Critical Accountability
Read our take on the troubling claims made in the US Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH)’s recent report on efforts to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on people, and our call for accountability.
- New publication on challenges and opportunities for workforce development of Indiana Community Health Workers
An interest in, and the need for, Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the United States is growing exponentially. CHWs possess a unique ability to relate to and build trust with communities in order to improve clinical outcomes, while building individual and community capacity. Given their critical role in addressing social determinants of health, expanding the CHW workforce is crucial. However, creating CHW jobs, facilitating training and certification, and establishing sustainable financing models to support this workforce has been challenging.
We conducted a mixed-methods study consisting of an online survey and focus group discussions assessed the strengths, practices, and challenges to CHW workforce sustainability and expansion in the state of Indiana, including perspectives from both CHWs and employers.
Full article: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-022-07469-6
- Health Techquity Lab and Planned Parenthood partner to engage patients to address barriers to cervical cancer screening.
Our study, Examining multilevel determinants of cervical cancer and acceptability of screening innovations to address disparities among Hispanic women in Lake County, Indiana, was awarded the 2021 Indiana CITI Trailblazer Award. In partnership with Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai’i, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky (PPGNHAIK) we will explore patient barriers to cervical cancer screening at Planned Parenthood Lake County clinics and if and how innovative screening strategies (i.e. self-sampling, rapid testing, community health worker delivered education and navigation) would address these barriers, their potential effects or consequences on the community, and how these innovations should best be implemented.
Contact Us
Matthews Hall, 218
812 West State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47907
natalia@purdue.edu
(765) 494-8287