CHW Central

A global resource for and about Community Health Workers

Journal articles

A monitoring and evaluation gap for WHO’s community health worker guidelines, Botswana

A 2018 literature review conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated that CHWs are effective at improving population health across countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Americas. Based on their results, the WHO developed guidelines to ensure CHWs perform their roles effectively. Stephanie Watson-Grant and co-authors reported on a comparative … [Read more...] about A monitoring and evaluation gap for WHO’s community health worker guidelines, Botswana

Impact of mobile health-enhanced supportive supervision and supply chain management on appropriate integrated community case management of malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia in children 2-59 months: A cluster randomized trial in Eastern Province, Zambia

Poor supply chain management and a lack of supportive supervision represent challenges to successful treatment of childhood illnesses like diarrhoea, malaria, and pneumonia. Godfrey Biemba and his team wanted to know whether a mobile health (mHealth) system could help CHWs monitor medical stock and improve the quality of supervision and mentoring of CHWs. Results indicated that … [Read more...] about Impact of mobile health-enhanced supportive supervision and supply chain management on appropriate integrated community case management of malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia in children 2-59 months: A cluster randomized trial in Eastern Province, Zambia

When financial incentives backfire: A community health worker experiment in Uganda

CHWs sometimes charge for health products like those used to treat child diarrhea, but limited research has examined whether or not a fee-for-service model improves CHW performance. Zachary Wagner and his team compared the performance of Uganda-based CHWs who charged for their services against those who did not. Those who charged for their services conducted fewer household … [Read more...] about When financial incentives backfire: A community health worker experiment in Uganda

How do decision-makers use evidence in community health policy and financing decisions? A qualitative study and conceptual framework in four African countries.

Decisions about whether and how to finance and support close-to-community community health programming are best driven by evidence about what “works,” but a recent study by Meghan Bruce Kumar and her team suggests that the evidence base is limited. The researchers took a look at financing decisions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawai, and Mozambique to model their decision making … [Read more...] about How do decision-makers use evidence in community health policy and financing decisions? A qualitative study and conceptual framework in four African countries.

The distinctive roles of urban community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of the literature

As low- and middle-income cities grow in size, community health workers increasingly require evidence-based guidance to understand how to deliver health services to the urban poor. Teralynn Ludwick and her team reviewed the literature to understand the role of CHWs in urban health systems. CHWs often took on similar roles to those found in rural contexts, with the exception … [Read more...] about The distinctive roles of urban community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review of the literature