This study explored the needs of community health volunteers (CHVs) providing palliative care in Mutungo Parish, Uganda. Interviews with eight CHVs revealed four main challenges: limited training in palliative care, shortages of medical supplies and transport support, difficulties communicating and coordinating care, and heavy workloads due to staff shortages. The CHVs called … [Read more...] about Bridging the gap: Understanding the needs of community health volunteers to enhance palliative care delivery
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Somalia’s new community health strategy: Strengthening primary health care and health system resilience
This study reviewed Somalia’s new Community Health Strategy, which aims to improve access to basic health services, especially in rural and underserved communities. The strategy plans to expand Community Health Worker programmes, strengthen links between communities and health facilities, improve training and supervision, and increase coordination among health partners. It also … [Read more...] about Somalia’s new community health strategy: Strengthening primary health care and health system resilience
Does near-vision correction improve digital data entry accuracy? A simulated within-subject crossover study among community health workers in Malawi
This study in Malawi examined whether reading glasses could help Community Health Workers (CHWs) enter health information more accurately using mobile phones. Among 105 CHWs with age-related difficulty seeing nearby objects, those who wore reading glasses were almost twice as likely to enter data correctly as when they worked without glasses. Although the glasses did not … [Read more...] about Does near-vision correction improve digital data entry accuracy? A simulated within-subject crossover study among community health workers in Malawi
Co-designing the ‘Empower Community Health’ programme: A capacity-building initiative to support community health workers’ non-communicable disease health promotion in Ethiopia
This study in Gondar, Ethiopia, worked with community health workers, community members, and health managers to develop a programme to improve community health workers’ support for people at risk of non-communicable diseases. Through three workshops, 16 participants helped design a six-week programme covering knowledge about non-communicable diseases, healthy eating and … [Read more...] about Co-designing the ‘Empower Community Health’ programme: A capacity-building initiative to support community health workers’ non-communicable disease health promotion in Ethiopia
Community Health Worker–Led Hypertension Management with Independent Prescribing in Rural Lesotho: A Cluster-Randomised Non-Inferiority Trial
This study in rural Lesotho looked at whether trained community health workers could safely manage high blood pressure, including adjusting patients’ medicines, instead of relying only on nurses at health facilities. The study involved 807 adults across 103 villages and found that after one year, blood pressure was controlled in 77.7% of people receiving care from CHWs compared … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker–Led Hypertension Management with Independent Prescribing in Rural Lesotho: A Cluster-Randomised Non-Inferiority Trial