Abstract

Community outreach workers support people accessing health and social services. Even though they have been working in the province of Quebec (Canada) for the past 40 years, their practice is poorly documented (especially with families having children aged 0 to 5 years). To document this practice and its impacts for children and families, a content analysis was performed on 55 scientific and gray literature documents, 24 interviews, and 3 focus groups. Three themes were highlighted (i.e. characteristics of the population served, actions performed by community outreach workers, perceived impacts on families and children). Community outreach workers were essential for reaching out families with vulnerable circumstances and children with special needs. They were reported to tailor interventions to respond in different but complementary ways to the healthcare system. Their practice increased access for children and families to services, increased parental abilities, increased social capital of families, and confidence toward the healthcare system. Community outreach workers helped to reduce health inequalities. It is crucial that community outreach proximity approaches be sustained. Future studies should establish which actions are the most efficient and how community outreach workers can connect families with the services they need at the right places in the right moment.

摘要

社区外展工作者支持人们获得健康和社会服务。尽管他们过去 40 年来一直在魁北克省（加拿大）工作，但他们的做法却没有得到很好的记录（尤其是有 0 至 5 岁孩子的家庭）。为了记录这种做法及其对儿童和家庭的影响，我们对 55 份科学和灰色文献、24 次访谈和 3 个焦点小组进行了内容分析。突出了三个主题（即服务人口的特征、社区外展工作者采取的行动、对家庭和儿童的感知影响）。社区外展工作者对于接触处境脆弱的家庭和有特殊需要的儿童至关重要。据报道，他们调整干预措施，以不同但互补的方式应对医疗保健系统。他们的做法增加了儿童和家庭获得服务的机会，增强了父母的能力，增加了家庭的社会资本，以及对医疗保健系统的信心。社区外展工作者帮助减少了健康不平等。保持社区外展就近方法至关重要。