Benioff Community Health Outreach Worker Model: Considerations for Vaccine Ambassador Programs
Year Developed: 2021
Resource Type: Field-Generated Publication. *Primary Audience: Administrative Staff C-Suite (CEOs, CFOs, CIO, COOs, CMOs, etc.) Outreach Staff
Language(s): English
Sponsored by: National Association of Community Health Centers
Developed by: Department of Housing and Urban Development (See other resources developed by this organization).
Resource Summary: As the COVID-19 vaccine is rolling out to people experiencing homelessness, some communities are using a similar model (sometimes called Vaccine Ambassadors) to build confidence in the vaccine. This brief outlines key lessons learned from the CHOW model that are applicable to local Vaccine Ambassador programs.
Resource Details: In order to address the distrust of the medical community and encourage testing among people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, the Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative (Benioff) developed a cross-discipline program model early during the pandemic that paired medical teams with community health outreach workers (CHOWs). They estimate that by combining CHOWs—who had lived expertise of homelessness and the neighborhoods in which they were working—with encampment-proximal testing sites and incentives, they more than doubled the individuals who were willing to be tested.
Resource Subtopic: COVID-19.
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $6,625,000 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.