The Role of CHWs in multidisciplinary care teams and the XIX International AIDS Conference
Currently more than seven million HIV-positive people are eligible for antiretroviral treatment globally but are not receiving it. Health system challenges, including the shortage of a well-trained health care workforce have created barriers to scaling up HIV care and treatment. Recognizing the critical shortage of health care workers in low-and…
Can CHWs be effective advocates?
CHWs serve as an interface between the community and the public health system. Almost all CHWs are trained either by the government Ministry of Health and/ or non-governmental organizations (NGO) and community-based organizations (CBO). Whether the CHW is trained as a generalist to provide community-based health interventions or specially trained…
Use of data to inform CHW program strategy and day-to-day management
Poor management has often been cited as a common weakness in the sustainability of CHW programs. This is compounded by a lack of flexibility in management personnel to respond to contextual issues, poor training of managers, and a significant dearth of information on day-to-day performance of dynamic programs. When a…
Community Health Guides Part 2: Beyond paper
Last month, Xinia posed this question, which I believe is a central one for many of us working in community health: “How do we ensure educational processes in the community? How do we avoid what I call ‘a mere knowledge transmission’ and substitute it for real educational processes with the…
Community Health Guides: Making materials relevant, effective, and empowering
Hesperian Health Guides is excited to join the CHW Central community in a conversation about developing materials for health education and training. We have been producing practical health manuals for over 30 years, starting with the publication of Where There Is No Doctor, and we’ve learned a lot in the process…