Altarum is under a multiyear contract with the National Institutes of Health's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to support expansion of the Community Health Worker Health Disparities Initiative. This Initiative was launched to reduce health disparities in heart disease and asthma in underserved and minority communities across the United States. As trusted members of their communities, community health workers (CHW) play a critical role in reducing health disparities by teaching community members about healthy lifestyle choices and providing preventive care guidance. To support the implementation of CHW programs on heart health and asthma, NHLBI developed science-based health education materials that are culturally appropriate, field tested, and easy for CHWs to use in the community or a clinical setting. The Initiative’s health education materials are tailored to the following populations: Latino; African-American; American Indian and Alaska Native; and Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and other Pacific Islander populations.

NHLBI has implemented a multipronged approach to develop and strengthen partnerships in order to implement CHW training and community education and outreach. This approach is supported by a comprehensive communication strategy, trainings, communities of practice, and webinar series. The purpose of this RFP is to fund Strategic Champions that will play a leadership role in the initiative by developing, implementing, and assessing one of the following activities:

• Train Community Health Workers (CHW) and build their capacity to use NHLBI curricula and address heart health through partnership building and innovative delivery strategies.
• Expand and enhance the implementation of successful CHW heart health programs to broaden the use of NHLBI training, curricula, and materials in the community through partnership building and innovative strategies.

Applicants are encouraged to think creatively about their intended audience (e.g., male, family, rural), methods (e.g., social media, mobile technology, training and delivery models), and partnerships (e.g., community colleges, private organizations), and to implement their activities in various settings (e.g., clinics, community based organizations, places of worship).

To access the Strategic Champion Project RFP, please download here. The budget template may be downloaded here.

For additional information email CHW.Champions@altarum.org.

Initiative Resources:

• With Every Heartbeat Is Life: A Community Health Worker’s Manual for African Americans. A 12-lesson course on heart health education specifically created for the African-American community. Complete with activities, group idea starters, and reproducible handouts. Download manual (PDF format).

• Your Heart, Your Life: A Lay Health Educator’s Manual for the Latino Community. Designed to help promotores teach a 12-lesson course on heart health education specifically created for the Latino community. Lessons provide information for understanding, skill building, self-assessment, and goal setting for healthy lifestyle changes. Includes culturally appropriate teaching scripts, learning activities, and reproducible handouts. Interactive activities use telenovelas, photonovelas, role play, problem solving, and discussion. Latino role models and family contexts appear throughout. Available in Spanish and English. Download sessions 1-12 (PDF format). Download sessions 1-12 in Spanish (PDF format).

• Honoring the Gift of Heart Health: Heart Health Educator’s Manuals for American Indians and Alaska Natives. A comprehensive culturally appropriate, user-friendly 12 lesson course on heart-health education for the American Indian or Alaska Native community. Filled with skill-building activities, reproducible handouts, and idea starters. Two appendices cover activities for training Heart Health Educators to implement the program, as well as an American Indian or Alaska Native’s Family’s Journey to heart health, told with heart healthy recipes for each family member’s favorite foods. Download manual (PDF format).

• Healthy Heart, Healthy Family: A Community Health Worker’s Manual for the Filipino Community. This 12-session program helps families in the Filipino community acquire life skills that foster heart health. The manual includes scripts and training tips to guide CHWs. Each session is filled with issue-oriented interactive learning activities. Available in English and Tagalog. Download manual (PDF format).