Since the 1950’s, community health workers (CHWs) have been a key component in building trust with underserved populations, like migrant farm workers and connecting them to the health care system. Usually, bilingual and bicultural, CHWs live in and understand the communities in which they work. Although their functions vary in general, CHWs provide health education and information, refer clients to health and social services, provide informal counseling and support, offer direct service, such as first aid and health screening tests, and advocate for individual and community needs.

Depending on where they work or volunteer, they may assume a variety of titles, such as promotores or promotoras de salud, camp health aides, lay health workers, patient navigators, or indigenous or village health workers. CHWs are effective because they incorporate information about health and the health care system into the community’s culture, language, and value system, thereby improving cultural competence in the healthcare system and breaking down many barriers to health care.