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Lay Health Advisor Activity Levels: Definitions from the Field

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hillmalt{at}med.unc.edu

Jo Anne L. Earp, ScD

Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Caroline Bishop, MPH

Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Eugenia Eng, Dr.PH

Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

One type of lay health advisor model assumes that an effective mechanism for reaching the underserved is through informal advice-givers called natural helpers. Despite the growing use of this approach, few programs have defined what an active lay health advisor does within the natural helping process. To explore perceptions and definitions of lay health advisors’ activity, we conducted semistructured, in-person interviews with four field staff who coordinate the advisors’ activities in a breast cancer screening program. These staff viewed lay health advisor activity as fluctuating over the course of a year, occurring along a continuum of participation (inactive, moderately active, active, and superactive), and reflecting varying degrees of proactivity and participation in multiple activities. These results suggest an empirical process for refining the definition of an active lay health advisor, improving advisors’productivity in achieving outreach objectives, and managing and monitoring their ongoing activities.

Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 26, No. 4, 495-512 (1999)
DOI: 10.1177/109019819902600408


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