AI exposure: Community Health Workers
Promote health within a community by assisting individuals to adopt healthy behaviors. Serve as an advocate for the health needs of individuals by assisting community residents in effectively communicating with healthcare providers or social service agencies. Act as liaison or advocate and implement programs that promote, maintain, and improve individual and overall community health. May deliver health-related preventive services such as blood pressure, glaucoma, and hearing screenings. May collect data to help identify community health needs.
Reading this score
computedCommunity Health Workers is one of the unusual cases where capability and friction are both high. Current systems can produce a great deal of this work, with average capability across its tasks at 2.1 out of 4. Only 30.4% of the weighted task load comes out as exposed, because 27.0% of it runs into something structural. Jobs in this band tend not to disappear. They change shape, and the person stays.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 29 tasks it averages 2.02 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information, at 66.7%. The least is Transport or accompany clients to scheduled health appointments or referral sites, at 0.0%. A gap of 66.7% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within community and social service occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 14 roles in the group is 24.4%, and only 3 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 29 tasks, 16 are currently banded exposed, 4 assisted and 9 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take a change in who is permitted to sign the work, which is a question for regulators rather than for engineers. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.09 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 0.93 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 1.84 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.55 | 0-3 |
| Context | 2.02 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.87 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Roles in this band tend to change shape rather than disappear. The output gets drafted faster and the person moves toward review, judgment and accountability. The useful question is not whether to use these tools but who is trusted to sign off on what they produce.
Task by task
29 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maintain updated client records with plans, notes, appropriate forms, or related information. | 66.7% | 33.3% | 0.0% | 4.15 | exposed |
| Provide feedback to health service providers regarding improving service accessibility or acceptability. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 3.25 | exposed |
| Identify or contact members of high-risk or otherwise targeted groups, such as members of minority populations, low-income populations, or pregnant women. | 46.7% | 28.3% | 25.0% | 3.62 | exposed |
| Refer community members to needed health services. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.78 | exposed |
| Develop plans or formal contracts for individuals, families, or community groups to improve overall health. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.72 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to self-care, such as diabetes management. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.81 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to improving general health, such as diet or exercise. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.76 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to risk or prevention of conditions, such as lead poisoning, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), prenatal substance abuse, or domestic violence. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.40 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to sanitation or hygiene, such as flossing or hand washing. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.61 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to diagnostic screenings, such as breast cancer screening, pap smears, glaucoma tests, or diabetes screenings. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.60 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups on issues related to social or intellectual development, such as education, childcare, or problem solving. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.59 | exposed |
| Advise clients or community groups to ensure parental understanding of the importance of childhood immunizations and how to access immunization services. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.43 | exposed |
| Collect information from individuals to compile vital statistics about the general health of community members. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.12 | exposed |
| Interpret, translate, or provide cultural mediation related to health services or information for community members. | 40.0% | 35.0% | 25.0% | 3.07 | exposed |
| Report incidences of child or elder abuse, neglect, or threats of harm to authorities, as required. | 30.0% | 45.0% | 25.0% | 4.35 | assisted |
| Distribute flyers, brochures, or other informational or educational documents to inform members of a targeted community. | 30.0% | 20.0% | 50.0% | 3.11 | exposed |
| Assist families to apply for social services, including Medicaid or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 3.50 | exposed |
| Monitor nutrition of children, elderly, or other high-risk groups. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.18 | assisted |
| Advocate for individual or community health needs with government agencies or health service providers. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 3.58 | assisted |
| Teach classes or otherwise disseminate medical or dental health information to school groups, community groups, or targeted families or individuals, in a manner consistent with cultural norms. | 20.0% | 17.5% | 62.5% | 3.44 | untouched |
| Identify the particular health care needs of individuals in a community or target area. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | 3.49 | assisted |
| Attend community meetings or health fairs to understand community issues or build relationships with community members. | 11.7% | 13.3% | 75.0% | 3.26 | untouched |
| Teach appropriate parenting behaviors to individuals or families. | 8.9% | 16.1% | 75.0% | 3.54 | untouched |
| Contact clients in person, by phone, or in writing to ensure they have completed required or recommended actions. | 5.8% | 19.2% | 75.0% | 4.04 | untouched |
| Perform basic diagnostic procedures, such as blood pressure screening, breast cancer screening, or communicable disease screening. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Conduct home visits for pregnant women, newborn infants, or other high-risk individuals to monitor their progress or assess their needs. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.57 | untouched |
| Administer immunizations or other basic preventive treatments. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.16 | untouched |
| Provide basic health services, such as first aid. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.14 | untouched |
| Transport or accompany clients to scheduled health appointments or referral sites. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 2.89 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 1 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.