The Community Health Navigator (CHN) program is designed to help people optimize their care experience and improve outcomes. Working with the CHN program patients can overcome barriers to achieve better health. The CHN program reduces the power imbalance within the helping relationship, by providing patient-centered support. Patients are connected to the CHN program through a health care professional and receive individualized, practical supports to achieve short or long-term goals, increase motivation and build self-efficacy.
Community Health Navigators (CHNs) are a mobile group of community experts who have extensive knowledge of the resources, support, and services available to a patient. CHNs meet with patients in a comfortable environment, like in the community or their home. CHNs walk alongside patients in their journey towards health doing with rather than for, focusing on building both skills and confidence.
The CHN program was developed and evaluated by ENCOMPASS; a research partnership between the University of Calgary, University of Alberta, and multiple Primary Care Networks (PCNs) studying the impact of patient navigation for patients with chronic disease. An evidence-based theory on how CHNs help people was developed from the literature and refined using data collected during the ENCOMPASS studies. The insights from the study inform the existing model of delivery for the CHN program.