Following the successful conclusion on the Gender Webinar, the CHW Symposium webinar series now turns to its next critical theme: Research and Community Health. This session will explore how Community Health Workers can move beyond being subjects of study to becoming active collaborators and leaders in research, ensuring that knowledge production reflects frontline realities and drives meaningful change.
Nothing About Us Without Us: Centering CHWs in Health Research
Tuesday 19 August – 14:00 UTC / 21:00 ICT
Speakers
- Mary Naliaka Juma is a passionate community health worker from Matisi Dispensary in Bungoma, Kenya, and the CHW Research Representative of ACHVOK (Advocates for Community Health Volunteers – Kenya) to the Community Health Impact Coalition (CHIC). As a CHW lead and treasurer in Bungoma County, Mary champions healthcare access and advocates for CHW rights, both locally and globally. She serves on the Nadupal Advisory Board for social and behavioral change and co-authored a pivotal article on CHW exploitation presented at the 78th United Nations General Assembly.
- Dr. Noelle Wiggins is Co-Principal Investigator/Co-Executive Director for the Community Health Worker Center for Research and Evaluation (CHW-CRE). Dr. Wiggins has over 35 years’ experience leading teams that use popular/people’s education, the Community Health Worker (CHW) model, and participatory research and evaluation to advance health and educational equity. She co-founded the Community Capacitation Center at the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon, and served as its director from 1998-2017. Dr. Wiggins has authored or co-authored over 30 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and has presented at over 50 state, national, and international conferences.
- Victoria Adewumi, MA, CHW, MPH is a public health practitioner and Community Health Worker with deep experience in municipal, non-profit, K-12, higher education and faith-based organizational settings. Her work includes facilitating community empowerment and establishing health equity interventions for historically marginalized populations through coalition building, direct service, case management, policy and advocacy. Victoria is one of the inaugural Co-Executive Directors/Co-Principal Investigators of the Community Health Worker Center for Research and Evaluation (CHW-CRE) where she supports the training of CHWs and CHW researchers in evaluation methods that uplift the CHW workforce, as well as the development of common process and outcome indicators to evaluate CHW programs globally.
- Dr. Karen Finnegan is a public health researcher with more than twenty years of experience conducting research into community health systems in countries around the world. She is a Research Associate at Harvard Medical School and the Managing Director of Pivot Science, leading research activities for Pivot, an NGO which works to strengthen the public health system in rural Madagascar. She has a PhD from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and a MPH from Emory University.
- Jane Wamae currently serves as a Senior Research Analyst at Lwala Community Alliance, a community-led health organization based in western Kenya, where she leads the design and analysis of mixed-methods research for programmatic learning and policy advocacy. Jane’s work in Lwala integrates rigorous data with lived experience and employs these learnings to inform programming for improved primary care access, better maternal and child health outcomes, and strengthened capacity of community health workers. She ensures that research is not only methodologically sound but also deeply rooted in community priorities. Her leadership was honored with the 2024 Lwala Emerging Leader Award, recognizing her commitment to collaborative innovation and inclusive research practices.
- Cleo Baskin and Linnea Stansert-Latzen, Interim Directors of Research from CHIC will moderate the session.
- Siyapah Surathumrong of Community Partners International will give a welcoming remark and introduce the webinar series.
Background
While CHWs are often the subjects of research, they are rarely involved across the research pathway as true collaborators and co-leads. This imbalance reinforces extractive research practices and often produces knowledge that fails to reflect frontline realities and reinforces CHW marginalisation. Involving CHWs across all stages of research, from design and data collection to analysis, interpretation, and dissemination, not only strengthens ethical integrity but also improves the quality, relevance, applicability, and impact of research. The discussion will also examine systemic changes needed across journals, funders, and institutions to dismantle extractive practices, and present case examples that inspire funders, academic institutions, and implementers to embrace more equitable research practices and evaluation.
Registration for this event is now closed.
Webinar Resources
- Best Practices for CHW-led Evaluation and Research is a new guideline deveoped by CHW-CRE to highlight peer-review studies and real world experiences.
- Key Topics In Participatory Research and Evaluation is a bilingual learning series developed by CHW-CRE, available in both English and Spanish.
- CHW-CRE also offers trainings and workshops that aim to strengthen CHW programs. These interactive sessions are designed by CHWs for CHWs to elevate the impact in research.
- The Role and Recognition of Community Health Workers in Research–a Global Survey developed by CHIC.
Further information
This webinar is part of a global series hosted by Community Partners International, in collaboration with ReBUILD for Resilience, SingHealth Duke-NUS Global Health Institute, and Community Health Impact Coalition, in the lead-up to the 4th International Community Health Workers Symposium, which will take place virtually on 10-14 November 2025. You can visit their websites to learn more about their works and contributions on CHWs and Global Health.
