HARTFORD, Conn. (Sept. 26, 2024) – Connecticut has hundreds of community health workers, doulas, peer support specialists, recovery coaches, and other workers whose roles center on building relationships and helping people address health and social needs. These workforces can play a key role in improving health outcomes, reducing disparities, and relieving some of the pressures of health care workforce shortages, according to a new policy brief released by the Connecticut Health Foundation.
“There has been a lot of attention devoted to each of these roles in recent years, and it’s important to understand the similarities and differences among these workforces,” said Tiffany Donelson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Health Foundation. “One important similarity is their ability to build trusting relationships based on shared community and/or experiences, highlighting the importance of the way that trust can help people achieve their health goals. If we want to improve outcomes and health equity in our state, supporting these workforces and making sure they are sustainably funded is critical.”
The report, written by health policy expert Katharine London, focuses on four workforces, collectively referred to as health support workers:
- Community health workers, who connect people to culturally appropriate health and social services systems, and help people manage their health conditions.
- Doulas, who support pregnant people and their families during and after childbirth.
- Peer support specialists, who give and receive assistance to achieve long-term recovery from mental illness.
- Recovery coaches, who engage people with substance use disorder and help them take steps toward harm reduction and recovery.
Key findings include:
- Services provided by community health workers, doulas, recovery coaches, and peer support specialists improve health outcomes, especially for underserved communities. Expanding their use in Connecticut could improve population health and reduce health disparities.
- These services are cost-effective and could lead to savings in the health and social service systems.
- These roles can serve as entry-level professional jobs for people who might face challenges entering the workforce.
- Health support workers can help to reduce the effects of health care worker shortages by serving patients with high needs.
- Connecticut can support these workforces by funding Medicaid coverage for their services and supporting recruitment of people from underserved communities into these roles.
The report describes each role, what they do, the benefits of their services, how they are certified, and whether Medicaid currently pays for their services in Connecticut and other states.
Connecticut Medicaid currently pays for recovery coaches in some settings and for peer support specialists through a targeted program. The state is in the process of implementing payment for community health worker and doula services through Medicaid.
“Community health workers, doulas, recovery coaches, and peer support specialists meet people where they are,” London said. “These health professionals help people develop health goals and meet those goals. The health support workforce helps to make the health care system work for everyone.”
>> Click here to read the full brief
For more information, please contact Arielle Levin Becker at arielle@cthealth.org or 860-724-1580 x 116.
About the Connecticut Health Foundation
The Connecticut Health Foundation is the state’s largest independent health philanthropy dedicated to improving health outcomes for people of color. Since its creation in 1999, the foundation has awarded more than $78 million to nonprofit organizations and public entities to expand health equity, reduce health disparities, expand health coverage, and improve the health of all Connecticut residents.