The Community Health Worker Outreach Initiative (CHWOI)

Protecting AAPI Communities of Los Angeles County During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A Community Health Worker (CHW) is an umbrella term for a frontline public health worker who is a trusted member of, and who has a lived experience or an unusually close understanding of the community served. This trusting relationship enables the CHW to bridge the gap between needed health and social services and the community. Access to social services are facilitated by CHWs to improve the quality of and, most importantly, the cultural and linguistic competence of service delivery.

From 2020 to 2023, AAPI Equity Alliance leveraged existing and strong networks to engage hard-to-reach and highly impacted AAPI communities through the Community Health Worker Outreach Initiative (CHWOI). After three years of working with the AAPI community, an external evaluator reviewed program reports and conducted 25 interviews with ten CHWOI, two County COVID-19 Community Equity Fund partner organizations, and three team lead agencies to document insights and recommendations for future CHW implementation strategies.

All Hands on Deck: How LA’s AAPI CBOs Addressed Health Inequities through Culturally Competent Covid-19 Outreach and Education Strategies (April 2023)

Project Background

The CHWOI Collaborative was supported by federal COVID-19 relief funds to outreach and educate vulnerable communities around COVID-19 mitigation efforts in 2020. AAPI Equity Alliance worked in partnership through their coalition and multiple funded CHWOI partners to reach diverse AAPI communities located throughout Los Angeles County. AAPI Equity Alliance and partners were also able to leverage additional funds from another Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Public Health (DPH) funded initiative, the County COVID -19 Community Equity Fund (EF) grant, allowing for a more robust outreach effort. Longstanding experiences and relationships among over 40 coalition partners yielded trusted organizations and messengers to disseminate COVID-19 information and resources. There was a shared commitment across partners, bringing all hands on deck, to protect all AAPI communities in the County.