(P02-012-25) Collaborations Between Community Health Workers and Clinicians to Enhance Nutrition Services: An Exploratory Mixed Methods Study

Objectives: Community Health Workers (CHWs) have shown to enhance healthcare outcomes in healthcare settings, but more work is needed to understand their collaboration potential with clinicians. This study aimed to understand how CHWs can collaborate with registered dietitians’ nutritionists (RDNs) and culinary professionals to improve culturally sensitive nutrition services in healthcare settings. Our objectives were to (a) evaluate awareness of (CHWs) among RDNs, clinicians, and food service/culinary professionals and (b) assess their willingness to collaborate with CHWs in various healthcare activities.

Methods: An online, cross-sectional, mixed methods survey was conducted between April and July 2024 (n=218) nationwide. Participants included 71.1% RDNs, 10.1% clinicians, 7.8% food service personnel, and 5.0% culinary professionals. Data were analyzed to summarize frequencies and proportions of responses and analyzed thematically to identify perceived barriers and opportunities for working with CHWs in healthcare activities.

Results: Over half (54.7%) of respondents were not familiar with CHWs while 19.6% were very familiar. Over half were very willing to involve CHWs in creating culturally tailored nutrition plans (54.1%), engage CHWs in gathering patient feedback on diet and quality improvement (58.7%), and to leverage CHWs for patient advocacy and liaison roles within nutrition services (59.1%). Key perceived barriers to CHWs integration included resource constraints, concerns about the scope of practice, and limited awareness of their roles. However, respondents also noted several opportunities, such as enhancing patient-centered care, optimizing care outcomes, and augmenting the healthcare workforce.

Conclusions: The study highlights the need to increase awareness of CHWs among healthcare professionals. Encouraging collaboration between clinicians, culinary experts, and CHWs could lead to more effective, culturally sensitive healthcare delivery.

Funding Sources: This research was supported by the McCormick Science Institute and the Personalized Nutrition Initiative, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.