This episode is the first in a set of six Coffee and Science conversations on Assistance—health care sector activities that aim to reduce social risk by providing or linking patients with relevant social services. Nadia Islam, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone, speaks with Maria Lemus, the executive director of Visión y Compromiso, an organization created and led by promotores that supports work to improve both individual and community wellbeing. Nadia and Maria explore the potential risks and benefits of formalizing roles for community health workers and promotores in the health care sector’s social care workforce.

Recommended references:

• Visión y Compromiso. Key Workforce Priorities for the Community Transformation Model. 2017.
• Islam N, Shapiro E, Wyatt L, Riley L, Zanowiak J, Ursua R, et al. Evaluating community health workers’ attributes, roles, and pathways of action in immigrant communities. Prev Med. 2017.
• Islam N, Rogers ES, Schoenthaler A, Thorpe LE, Shelley D. A cross-cutting workforce solution for implementing community–clinical linkage models. Am J Public Health. 2020.
• Peretz PJ, Islam N, Matiz LA. Community Health Workers and Covid-19 — Addressing Social Determinants of Health in Times of Crisis and Beyond. N Engl J Med. 2020.