679: Community Health Workers Need Sustained Funding, Pediatricians Feel Ill-Equipped to Help Teens Struggling with Addiction

ROBERT JOHNSON:   

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Wednesday, June 5, 2024. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. 

DENISE OCTAVIA SMITH:   

Community health workers are a proven workforce and we have over six decades of evidence of our effectiveness.  

JOHNSON:   

Community health workers played a critical role in the pandemic response and received money to do so. But with the emergency behind us, funding is running out. Denise Octavia Smith is the executive director of the National Association of Community Health Workers. She says it's time to talk about sustainable investments in the workforce.  

SMITH:   

CHW sustainable financing is continuous funding that integrates CHW core roles and career advancement within the employers budget. So, to sustain and make this workforce more stable, we need to support and authentically engage CHWs.  

JOHNSON:   

Smith adds agencies are starting to recognize the value of community health workers and their impacts on public health outcomes.  

SMITH:   

We're seeing a lot of innovation in Medicaid and Medicare in terms of advancing the roles and financing of CHWs. Just as we're already seeing community, public and private partnerships, innovate together. So, I really believe it's just a matter of time before the true value of my workforce, of the CHW workforce is realized and sustained. 

JOHNSON:   

You can learn more about the association by visiting its website. The link is in the show notes. 

A survey of pediatricians reveals most don't feel equipped to help their teenage patients who may be struggling with a drug addiction. Dr. Scott Hadland is the chief of adolescent medicine at Mass General Hospital for Children in Boston. He says more than 90% of doctors surveyed agree it's their job to identify addiction in adolescents. 

SCOTT HADLAND:   

They know that this is an issue. But fewer than half of pediatricians felt prepared to talk to teens about opioids. And this was far fewer than, you know, said that they felt comfortable talking to teens about alcohol, cannabis or e-cigarettes or other substances. 

JOHNSON:   

Hadland says those same pediatricians don't have the resources to help. They need more education and training. 

HADLAND:   

When I went through medical school, residency, and then in my early career, their wasn't really any training at all, to work with young people who might be struggling with addiction, especially if they were struggling with opioids. And so, this education and training needs to be amped up across the country at all levels of medical training. 

JOHNSON:   

He reminds us that this kind of work takes time. And currently, doctors don't always get paid for the extra effort. 

HADLAND:   

Right now, our health care system is set up in such a way that it's more cost effective to see multiple kids who are, you know, who might have sore throats or runny noses, and it is much less sort of financially advantageous for a pediatrician to take the time to work with a teen and their family when they're struggling with addiction. 

JOHNSON:   

The American Academy of Pediatrics was a partner on the survey. You can read more about it by clicking the link in the show notes.  

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That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.