Date of Conferral
5-15-2025
Date of Award
May 2025
Degree
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
School
Public Health
Advisor
Dr. Clarence Schumaker
Abstract
Community health workers in the United States faced significant challenges in conducting in-person community practice during the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected their communication, training, and service delivery outcomes. Videoconferencing enabled workers to connect with underserved populations for individual and community crisis response. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of community health workers in the Rural Community Health Worker Network (RCHWN) regarding the use of videoconferencing among community members in practice and how members in RCHWN perceive the availability of videoconferencing devices to communicate in the community. Transcendental phenomenology provided the conceptual framework and research design for this qualitative study. Data were collected by conducting nine in-depth interviews with eight community health workers and one additional key personnel with significant knowledge and influence. Data analysis revealed six themes regarding participants' experiences. These themes encompassed the ability to connect, motivate, and engage with other community health workers to improve client service delivery and training outcomes through videoconferencing. The research supports positive social change by showing how rural community health workers' humanitarian efforts improve community connection in underserved areas. This study may promote positive social change by helping public health educators advocate for videoconferencing network communication training for community health workers, improving readiness for future national emergencies in the United States.
Recommended Citation
Avery, Valdora Lejune, "Community Health Workers’ Lived Experience of Using Videoconferencing With Community Members" (2025). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 17782.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/17782