Client satisfaction with community health workers in HIV care teams

Community health workers (CHWs) integrated in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care teams undertake a variety of tasks to help patients navigate health care, develop care plans, and address social needs. Given the broad role of CHWs in HIV care, we sought to understand which client attributes are associated with various dimensions of CHW satisfaction using a sample of 204 people with HIV (PWH) from various geographic regions across the United States. Multivariable linear regressions were used to determine which client attributes were associated with complete satisfaction with CHWs using 10 validated measures. The mean age of participants was 40.6 years old (SD = 12.8) and over 70% were Black or African American. Adjusted models reveal clients who were female, have marginal health literacy, or have a substance use disorder diagnosis were more likely to not be completely satisfied across multiple dimensions (p ≤ .05). Conversely, being housed and having a mental health diagnosis were associated with being more likely to be completely satisfied (p ≤ .04). Clients’ sociodemographic characteristics and health conditions may be indicative of unique needs, leading to differing expectations of CHWs. CHW training modalities should consider the complex interplay of care needs based upon different client backgrounds and experiences among PWH. Addressing unique needs resulting from social determinants of health and that arise from conditions co-occurring with HIV, such as substance use disorders, should be incorporated into CHW service delivery.