TABLE 1.
Lay Health Advisor (LHA) Curriculum Components and Implementation Schedule
| Module No. and Title | Session No. and Date |
Content Area | Goals | Enhancements as a Result of LHA/Community Member Input |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Role/duties of a LHA | Session 1: April 15, 2010 |
Expectations and responsibilities of a lay health worker |
To understand what lay health advisors are and what they do |
Set boundaries on roles of LHAs in the context of outreach (not research roles) |
| 2: Communication | Session 1: April 15, 2010 |
Effective communication |
To explore ways to deliver accurate and appropriate health information that can contribute to the community’s health and overall well-being |
Identified evidence-based, easy-to-navigate sources (such the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites) as resources for LHAs in addition to their program specific workbook with appropriate resource materials such as brochures, videos, articles, etc |
| 3: Working in the community |
Session 1: April 15, 2010 |
Community-based participatory research |
Define community and perspectives that affect LHA activities. Discuss frameworks for reaching individuals and groups in the community |
LHAs and community partners reiterated that community is an asset (and has resources) not just a recipient. Thus all trainings were held at community partner facilities. Community also identified “nontraditional” venues for outreach |
| 4: Health disparities | Session 2: June 10, 2010 |
Social determinants of health and issues in health disparities |
Understand what health disparities are and which ones affect your community |
Cancer health disparities are not the priority day-to-day area of need. As such, community encouraged more partnerships with other organizations dealing with general health and other social problems most salient to medically underserved populations in addition to cancer |
| 5: Cancer 101 | Session 2: June 10, 2010 |
An introduction to general cancers |
Understand what cancer is, the basic causes, and be able to relay that info to the community |
LHA input led to language simplification for each module, particularly the last three. The advisory board for one of the community partners offered feedback on which cancer sites to target in our initial outreach efforts, that is, prostate, colon cancer and breast cancer. Also community partners emphasized need for the academic partners to provide more resources for follow-up care for abnormal screening or if cancer is found for uninsured and underinsured |
| 6: Research 101 | Session 3: October 24, 2010 |
Research and research methods |
Understand the importance and methods of basic research |
LHAs wanted to teach community members early on in life about importance of all research: behavioral, clinical, or community |
| 7: Clinical trials | Session 4: March 22, 2011 |
Clinical trials | Identify what a clinical trial is, how they work, and why are they necessary |
This module also generated much interest given the documented challenges with minority participation in research. Community partners welcomed the idea of educating the general public about research to increase their readiness to participate in clinical trials in the future if they ever became eligible |
NOTE: A common and cross-cutting feedback by LHA and community members was the need to simplify the curriculum and make the curriculum more user-friendly. This resulted in a workbook format with all modules consisting of four components:
1. core content presented in outline format with bullets, diagrams, and resource lists;
2. PowerPoint slide deck adaptable for use by LHAs in conducting “Talking Circles” or individual or group education at Health Fairs;
3. exercises/vignettes and worksheets; and
4. video clips (where available).