Santa Rosa Junior College

Health Sciences DepartmentCommunity Health Worker Program

CHW 151 Outreach Techniques & Strategies
Fall 2016
Instructor: Matthew Ingram, MPP, MPH
CHW 151 Section #2927
Tuesdays 5:30-8:30, August 23 December 13
Class website: http://chwsrjc.weebly.com/

Office: Rm 4035, Race Building

Office Hours: Tuesdays, 4:15-5:15 pm
Email: mingram@santarosa.edu

Text: Foundations for Community Health Workers, Second Edition. Edited by: Tim Berthold, Jeni Miller, Alma AvilaEsparza, Wiley & Co., 2016. In SRJC bookstore or online. **Two copies are at the Doyle Library Reserve Desk.
Course Description:
Community Health Worker (CHW) students will examine health issues and identify community resources for vulnerable
populations in Sonoma County. They will also improve skills in conflict resolution, health outreach, community
assessments, community organizing, and CHW self-care.
Class Website:
Our main channel for communication will be through email and our class website: http://chwsrjc.weebly.com/
For quizzes, we will use the class website as a portal, which can be accessed through any internet-enabled device. If you
do not have an internet-enabled device during class, I will provide one to you during class for your use while the quiz is in
session.
Related documents and other materials will be placed on the website as the semester progresses. Please check it
regularly.
Paper vs. Electronic Communication and Materials:
This class prefers a paperless environment. This is in part related to job training; nearly all health organizations now use
electronic health record systems to track their work. Thus, we will use this class as an opportunity to learn to work
without paper. Whenever possible, please do not give your instructor paper materials when submitting assignments or
other materials; email them instead to: mingram@santarosa.edu
Course Objectives:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify, analyze and apply models for practicing cultural responsibility and conducting client-centered interviews.
2. Explain how to strengthen client capacity as a culturally effective CHW.
3. Describe code of ethics for CHWs, including HIPAA.
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4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Identify and apply activities to increase cultural self-awareness.

Differentiate the scope of practice of CHWs from that of other members of the health care team.
Conduct client interviews.
Demonstrate client centered counseling for health behavior change.
Identify the steps for providing case management services.
Discuss common challenges related to home visiting.

Attendance and Participation:

The campus policy on attendance is that students are expected to attend all sessions of a course. You can be dropped if
10% of the course is missed or if you miss the first 2 sessions of the course. Consistent attendance and participation is
important in this class. The learning process is based on group learning; all students success is dependent on the
participation of each person. You will receive 3 points for each class attended. Excessive absences are 3 sessions missed,
and 2 or more absences and/or missing parts of classes can affect your grade.
*If you miss a quiz, you need to make it up before the next class. Contact the instructor to do so.
Speakers and Home Visiting: Speakers, including CHWs, physicians, mental health professionals, dentists and others,
will present in class periodically about health issues affecting our community and will discuss appropriate home visiting
approaches and techniques. Students who have completed Spring semester will make home visits to clientsreferred
from various Sonoma County health agenciesin teams for two this semester.
Medical bags and supplies will be provided for home visiting. You will need to purchase green CHW scrubs (>$30).
Immunizations will be required to protect you and your clients.
Participation: Participation points come from class discussion and oral presentations. Participation includes sharing with
others courteously and giving others a chance to speak.
Repeating Courses and Withdrawal: Students repeating a course because they receive a D, F, no credit (NC), no
pass (NP), and/or a withdrawal (W) are limited to 3 enrollments total. Please see the SRJC scheduled for last day to drop a
class without a W and last day to drop a class with a W.
Campus Policies on Honesty and Respect: SRJC students shall conduct themselves in a manner that reflects their
awareness of common standards of decency and the rights of others, including dishonesty such as cheating or
plagiarism, obstruction or disruption of teaching, use of drugs or alcohol, disorderly conduct, etc. (For complete details,
google: SRJC Rules and Regulations, and read, Student Conduct Standards and Due Process.)
Honest Work and Tech Use: Cheating on any test will result in an F on that test. Computers, cell phones, and other
devices may be used for note taking or looking up course-related information, but not during exams.
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Organizational and Technological Skills Presentations: You are expected to develop and use a system
(electronically or paper-based) to organize related materials for this course and record your thoughts and ideas. Each
student will present on their methods for organization during the semester. One such idea is to build a website using a
free tool such as Weebly. You may also opt to use an app such as Evernote. At the end of the semester, you will receive
up to 30 points for your presentation on organizational skills.
Health Issues in My Community Presentation: For this project, you will present on an issue in your community that
determines health outcomes. Your presentation should include information about a local issue that is relevant to you, and
should also include some relevant findings from current research.
Quizzes: Periodic quizzes will be given on reading assignments and on lecture and speaker presentations. There will also
be a final examination in the last class.
Grades will be based on percentage of total possible points. Below are the approximate points for the semester.
Homework and quiz and final total points may vary:
Attendance & Participation

40 points

A = 90 to 100 percent

Homework (7) & Quizzes (4)

190 points

B = 80 to 89 percent

Organizational and Technological Skills Presentation

30 points

C = 70 to 79 percent

Health Issues in My Community Presentations

30 points

D = 60 to 69 percent

Final Exam
Total points

60 points

F = below 60%

350 points

___________________________________________________________________

Course Content, Assignments, and Test Schedule:

August 23
Introduction to Course and class Expectations
1. Introductions and discuss goals
2. Course Objectives & Plan
3. Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder
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4. Immunization Requirement for CHWs

5. Review class website and discuss its use
Reading:

Chapter 6 Practicing Cultural Humility. Read pp. 136-145

Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapters 1 and 2.
____________________________________
August 30
Cultural Humility and Health Disparities
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

What is culture?
What is cultural humility?
Why practicing cultural humility is important for CHWs.
What is structural racism and structural discrimination?
How do we build cultural awareness?
What do we have to be cautious of as we try to become more culturally effective?
What are health disparities?
What is the Portrait of Sonoma?

Discuss Mountains Beyond Mountains

Reading:

Chapter 6 Practicing Cultural Humility Read pp 145-153.

Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapter 3.
Homework:#1 Answer questions 1-3 on page 152 and submit responses via email to me by 5pm on September 6 th.
_____________________________________
September 6
How does place matter to a community?
Field Trip to Southwest Santa Rosa. Tour with Community Development Commission staff, learn about Annexation efforts
and how they relate to health. Discuss applications for the Portrait of Sonoma.
Reading:

Chapter 7 Guiding Principles for Working with Individual Clients. Read pp. 156-174.
Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapter 4.
____________________________
September 13
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Quiz #1
Principles for Working with Individual Clients
Reading:

Chapter 8 Guiding Principles for Working with Individual Clients. Read pp. 174-178.
Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapter 5 and 6.
Homework #2: Answer Ethical Guidelines Questions 1 & 2 and all Scope of Practice questions on page 196 and submit
responses to me via email by 5pm on September 20th.
________________________________
September 20
Organizational and Technological Skills Presentations First Session
Guiding Principles for Working with Individual Clients
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What does scope of practice mean?

What are some competencies that usually are in the scope of practice for CHWs?
What would usually be outside your scope of practice?
Why might CHWs be tempted to work outside their scope of practice?
What could happen if you work outside your scope of practice?
What do you do if you are uncertain?

Reading:

Chapter 8 Guiding Principles for Working with Individual Clients read pp 178-197
Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapters 7 and 8.
Homework #3: Answer Promoting Behavior Change and Client-Centered practice questions on p. 196-197 and submit
answers to me via email by 5pm on September 27.
_______________________________
September 27
Scope and Practice and Promoting Behavior Change
Speaker: TBD (Montse?)
1. Why is self-awareness a key concept for CHWs?
2. How do you conduct self-evaluation?
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3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

What behaviors do people typically try to change?

What is your experience with behavior change?
What common mistakes do CHWs make working with clients on behavior change?
Describe the ecological model of promoting behavior change.
Describe the implicit theory and its role in behavior change promotion.
How would you describe client-centered practice to a new CHW?
What does it mean to apply strength-based approach to your work with clients and how is it different from
traditional approaches?

Organizational and Technological Skills Presentations Second Session

Reading:

Chapter 9 Conducting Initial Client Interviews. Read pp. 200-220.

Mountains Beyond Mountains, Read. Chapter 9 and 10.
Homework #4: Describe a feature of your neighborhood that promotes health. Describe one that does not promote
health. Suggest at least two ways that your community could work address the factor that does not promote health.
Describe how you personally could work to address the factor that does not promote health. Submit your responses via
email to me by 5pm on October 6th.
_____________________________
October 6
Quiz #2
Speaker: Cultural humility in client-center interviews (TBD)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What
What
What
What
What

are
are
are
are
are

the key concepts in doing client-centered counseling?

implicit theories?
your primary goals for your first client interview?
the 3 phases of the interview?
6 important things to do in the beginning phase of the interview?

Reading: Chapter 9 Conducting Initial Client Interviews Read pp 220-235. (We will practice interviews in class.)
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Read Chapters 11 and 12.
____________________________
October 11
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Speaker: Joshua Glasgow, Professor, Sonoma State University Department of Philosophy

1. What does ethics mean?
2. What is included in the Code of Ethics for CHWs?
3. What are key ethical concepts for CHWs
4. How do ethical conflicts affect CHWs?
5. How do you make ethical decisions?
Conducting Initial Client Interviews
Small group role-plays (triads): Conducting interviews.
1. What are you doing in the middle phase of the interview?
2. What are some effective ways of asking questions?
3. What is the process for ending the interview?
4. How are you taking notes during the interview?
5. What is the best way to document your work and complete the necessary forms?
Reading:

Chapter 9 Conducting Initial Client Interviews Read pp 235-245. (We will practice interviews in class.)
Mountains Beyond Mountains, Read Chapter 13 and 14.

________________________________
October 18
Health Issues in My Community Presentations First Session
Client-Centered Behavior Change Counseling
Discussing and practicing client interviews
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Reading:

Read Chapter 9, Client-Centered Behavior Change Counseling, pp 245-257.

Mountains Beyond Mountains Read Chapter 15 and 16.

October 25 -- NO CLASS
________________________________
November 1
Quiz #3
Health Issues in My Community Presentations Second Session
Client-Centered Behavior Change Counseling
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What is motivational interviewing?

What techniques make it effective?
What are common challenges to client-centered counseling?
How can you work gest with your supervisors?
How can you insure that your own issues/biases wont get in the way of your counseling?

Reading: Chapter 10, Care Management read pp. 260-267.

Mountains Beyond Mountains read Chapters 18 and 19.

November 8
Speaker: Jock Gilchrist, Care Linkages Coordinator, St. Joseph HealthSonoma County
Case Management
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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

What are the basic concepts of case management?

What are the client and the CHW case manager responsibilities?
What do most case management plans include?
What should you do during your fist session with the client?
What 3 types of information do you gather when conducting an assessment?
How do you identify goals and priorities?

Reading: Chapter 10 Care Management, read pp. 267-285.

Mountains Beyond Mountains, read Chapters 20 and 21.
Homework #5: Complete a hypothetical Care Management Plan based on an imagined client of yours. Email me your
plan by 5pm on November 15th.
________________________________________
November 15
Healthy Eating
Speaker: Ines Hernandez, Promotor de Salud, St. Joseph HealthSonoma County, Promotores Program
Working with clients on healthy eating
Healthy Recipes
Reading: Chapter 11 Home Visiting, read pp 300-311.
Mountains Beyond Mountains read Chapters 22 and 23
_________________________________________
November 22
QUIZ #4
Health Issues in My Community Presentations Third Session
Home Visits
Speaker: Gabriel Gutierrez, Promotor de Salud, St. Joseph HealthSonoma County, Housecalls Program
1. Why do we make home visits?
2. What are the challenges you face when making home visits?
3. What are the steps in preparing for a home visit?
4. What are the common courtesies and guidelines for home visiting?
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Reading:

Chapter 11 Home Visiting, Read pp 311-318.

Mountains Beyond Mountains, read Chapter 24.

Homework #6: Respond to all Chapter Review questions on page 318 and submit answers to me via email by 5pm on
November 29th.
__________________________________________
November 29
Home Visit Reports-Small Group Discussion and report to large group
1. What safety guidelines and tips are important for home visiting?
2. What steps could you follow in conducting a home visit?
3. What do you want to assess? How do you ask questions?
4. How do you conclude the visit?
5. What do you do after the visit?
6. What other challenges might you encounter?
Homework #7: Lay out a career vision for yourself over the next year. Follow directions available here. Put it all together
in one concise paragraph, with a short vision statement along with a short description of how you currently see yourself
reaching your vision. Write your vision in the present tense, as if you already have accomplished it. Submit your vision to
me via email by 5pm on December 6th.
_________________________________________
December 6

Last Class

Course review for Final

December 13 Tuesday, 5:30pm

FINAL EXAM
Bring an internet-enabled device (preferably laptop or tablet) to take the test.
Talk to your instructor if you cannot access an appropriate device.

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