New qualification to bring health into local communities

The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) and the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) have today announced that they will be launching a new Level 3 Certificate in Community Health and Wellbeing which will help bring health into local communities.

This qualification will help anyone currently working as a Community Health and Wellbeing Worker (CHWW) to demonstrate and develop the skills, knowledge and competencies that they need to carry out their role to required standards and prevent poor health. 

CHWWs are individuals recruited from within the communities they serve who work across primary care teams and the community sector to support their peers to access and navigate local health and care services.

Each CHWW is assigned to work with a number of households in their local area and carry out home visits each month to identify any support those individuals require across their physical, mental and social health. 

The role originated over thirty years ago in Brazil’s Family Health Strategy and has since become the core delivery model for primary care in the country, with over 70% of Brazilians now having an assigned CHWW.

The model has since been piloted by the NAPC across twenty-five sites in England, with positive results including:

• In Westminster, households were 47% more likely to have immunisations that they were eligible for and 82% more likely to have cancer screenings and NHS Health Checks.
• In Cornwall, residents who were attached to a CHWW saw a 90% increase in their wellbeing. 

Both the pilot and the CHWW role were recently included in the Government’s 10 Year Plan as a key element of the planned shift to a Neighbourhood Health Service, which aims to bring healthcare into local communities and help prevent ill health.

The qualification will support CHWWs to develop and demonstrate their knowledge and skills in relation to key public health concepts, to engage and build trust with individuals and within communities, and to support others to manage their own health and to access health and care services when they need them. It will also support the CHWW programme by providing standardised and regulated training, supporting the recognition and development of this emerging role.  

The announcement comes during Public Health Workforce Week, an annual awareness week led by RSPH which celebrates the impact of various professions that are playing new and emerging roles in efforts to keep people healthy and well. 

To register your interest for the Certificate in Community Health and Wellbeing or for more information, please email NAPC at [email protected].