Community Health Workers (CHWs) are frontline public workers with trusted relationships with the communities they serve. The CHW model is a recognized evidence-based health equity intervention that has been shown to improve individual and community health outcomes and improve healthcare access and quality across multiple contexts. In addition, the CHW workforce includes diverse frontline workers from communities often excluded from employment in public health and healthcare. CHWs bridge the gap between vulnerable rural communities and healthcare systems, and developing a sustainable professional CHW workforce builds local entry- level healthcare jobs with opportunities for growth. Therefore, strengthening the CHW workforce and the CHW model represents an important and strategic opportunity for diversifying the public health workforce, transforming public health systems and achieving health equity in Maine.

This community-engaged study began in 2019 and resulted in the first statewide report on the state of CHW workforce in Maine (2023). MECHWI and UMaine researchers re-launched the survey in Spring 2025.  The research team has worked closely with the Maine CHW Initiative to develop survey and interview questions that will help identify strategies for building the CHW workforce and developing structural interventions to address systemic  health inequities in Maine.  Findings will inform MECHWI's future programing and advocacy.