Rule 4723-26-13 | Standard curriculum for community health worker training programs.
(A) An approved curriculum for a training program for community health workers shall be the standard minimum curriculum set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule and shall satisfy all of the following:
(1) Include a program philosophy, program objectives or outcomes, course objectives or outcomes, teaching strategies, and core competencies or other evaluation methods that are:
(a) Consistent with the law regulating the practice of the community health worker;
(b) Internally consistent;
(c) Implemented as written; and
(d) Distributed to community health worker students;
(2) Include a curriculum plan showing the sequence of courses, laboratory experiences, and units of credit or number of clock hours allotted to theory and laboratory experiences; and
(3) Include a curriculum content that is a minimum of one hundred hours of didactic instruction and one hundred thirty hours of clinical experience. Relevant laboratory experiences may be integrated into the curriculum.
(B) As part of the instruction required in paragraph (A) of this rule, related clinical and laboratory experiences shall provide a community health worker with an opportunity to practice cognitive, psychomotor, and affective skills in the performance of a variety of basic tasks and activities with individuals or groups across the life span. Portions of the relevant clinical experience shall be provided in a community setting similar to the settings in which a community health worker will provide services.
(C) The standard minimum curriculum for community health workers shall include courses, content, and expected outcomes, relative to the defined role of the community health worker, in the following major areas:
(1) Health care, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) The physical, mental, emotional and spiritual impacts on health;
(b) Basic anatomy and physiology of major body systems;
(c) Substance use and affects on health;
(d) Signs indicating a change in a client's health status;
(e) Obtaining accurate vital signs;
(f) Basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills;
(g) Medical terminology;
(h) Documentation methods; and
(i) Utilization of local health and referral systems.
(2) Community resources, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Referral methods to assist various target population groups;
(b) Utilization of community resources and their referral processes;
(c) Utilization of resources related to entitlement programs;
(d) Recognizing and reporting signs of family violence, abuse and neglect; and
(e) Recognizing and making appropriate referral for signs of mental health and addiction problems.
(3) Communication skills, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Interpersonal communication skills;
(b) Effective interview techniques;
(c) Effective written communications to health care and service care providers; and
(d) Utilization of appropriate telephone technique.
(4) Individual and community advocacy, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Recognition of diversity, and the role of the community health worker in an interdisciplinary team;
(b) Supporting development of self care skills in various target population groups;
(c) Utilization of skills to assure that different target population groups receive needed services; and
(d) Methods of serving as a community liaison between different target population groups and local agencies and providers.
(5) Health education, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Educating on healthy lifestyle choices, including nutrition, exercise, and stress management to reduce health risk factors;
(b) Educating on adverse health consequences of smoking, drinking, and drugs of abuse;
(c) Educating on the importance of oral health care across the lifespan;
(d) Explaining basic prevention and wellness topics; and
(e) Explaining age-appropriate safety and injury prevention techniques.
(6) Service skills and responsibilities, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Protocols and policies regarding:
(i) Confidentiality;
(ii) Care coordination;
(iii) Documentation;
(iv) Submission of documentation for review by a supervisor; and
(v) Release of client information.
(b) Skills necessary to carry out an effective home visit, including:
(i) Personal safety;
(ii) Emotional dynamics;
(iii) Setting appropriate boundaries with clients;
(iv) Time management; and
(v) Conflict management skills.
(c) Performance of basic clerical, computing, and office skills necessary in the role of the community health worker.
(D) The standard minimum curriculum for community health workers shall also educate students on needs throughout the span of a lifetime including the following:
(1) Content related to the family during childbearing years, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Health education related to the childbearing years; and
(b) A basic understanding of related anatomy, physiology, and appropriate health care.
(2) Content related to the family during pregnancy, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Basic anatomy, physiology, and normal signs related to pregnancy;
(b) Recognition of warning signs during pregnancy requiring immediate reporting to the registered nurse supervisor; and
(c) Health education related to pregnancy, labor, and postpartum care.
(3) Content related to the newborn, infant, and young child, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Routine infant feeding and newborn care;
(b) Recognizing and reporting problems that can occur in early infancy;
(c) Immunization schedules and information regarding referral to appropriate health care facilities and practitioners;
(d) Basic methods to enhance typical child development; and
(e) Identification of potential developmental delays.
(4) Content related to adolescents including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) Age appropriate health education;
(b) Acute and chronic illnesses including, but not limited to asthma, obesity, and eating disorders; and
(c) High risk behaviors.
(5) Content related to adults and seniors, including expected competencies in the areas of:
(a) The aging process;
(b) Prevention strategies;
(c) Recommended screenings;
(d) Top causes of morbidity and mortality by age group; and
(e) Acute and chronic illnesses of adulthood including but not limited to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and lung disease.
(6) Content related to special health care and social needs of target population groups including:
(a) Grandparents raising grandchildren;
(b) Adults caring for aging parents; and
(c) Children and adults with disabilities.
(E) For purposes of paragraph (B) of this rule, students participating in a clinical practicum in a community setting shall be supervised by qualified instructional personnel employed by, or under contract with, the community health worker training program.
(F) It is the intent of the board that this curriculum is structured in such a way as to assure that participants who successfully complete a program that provides the curriculum may be able to utilize a portion of the credit hours earned toward additional career-related education.
Supplemental Information