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 people?" My colleague at Hesperian Health Guides, Zena Herman, … [Read more...] about Community Health Guides Part 2: Beyond paper
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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 about how to make materials relevant, … [Read more...] about Community Health Guides: Making materials relevant, effective, and empowering
Task-shifting to expert patients in HIV care
A Ugandan expert patient states, "I accepted my HIV+ status and wanted to help others cope with HIV and come out of stigma. I also wanted to help myself to prevent stress at home, wanted my children to know that being HIV+ is not the end of the world and learn how to live with HIV. I also wanted to help caretakers and the community with taking care of the sick." (2) The … [Read more...] about Task-shifting to expert patients in HIV care
Selection and training of promotoras: CHW workforce development
In the United States, as in the rest of the world, Community Health Workers (CHWs) have attracted a great deal of attention lately. In the US this has happened both as a result of ongoing national health care reform and as a general recognition of CHWs’ value and impact on the health of underserved communities in particular. There are some gaps in the US literature … [Read more...] about Selection and training of promotoras: CHW workforce development
Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) to improve child health: Key implementation challenges and potential solutions
Pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria together account for more than half of deaths among children ages 6 months to 5 years. New preventive interventions – such as the pneumococcal and rotavirus vaccines – will help reduce this mortality burden. But ensuring prompt and effective treatment of these all-too-common illnesses (particularly among disadvantaged children without … [Read more...] about Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) to improve child health: Key implementation challenges and potential solutions