Public health

Community health

Health literacy

Intervention (counseling)

Population

Computer network

Economic growth

Family medicine

Psychotherapist

Nursing

Psychology

Health care

Economics

Primary health care

Resource (disambiguation)

Coaching

Health coaching

Primary care

Computer science

Clinical decision support system

Medicine

Environmental health

The Annals of Family Medicine

Community health workers have potential to enhance primary care access and quality, but remain underutilized. To provide guidance on their integration, we characterized roles and functions of community health workers in primary care through a literature review and synthesis. Analysis of 30 studies identified 12 functions (ie, care coordination, health coaching, social support, health assessment, resource linking, case management, medication management, remote care, follow-up, administration, health education, and literacy support) and 3 prominent roles representing clusters of functions: clinical services, community resource connections, and health education and coaching. We discuss implications for community health worker training and clinical support in primary care.

Roles and Functions of Community Health Workers in Primary Care