Although community health workers are key members of the healthcare workforce in Brazil, many are women who face poor working conditions. Researchers investigated the ways in which COVID-19 enhanced the existing poor working conditions and created new ones for the CHW workforce in Brazil. The authors found that CHWs were expected to provide care without the proper personal … [Read more...] about COVID-19 and health promotion in Brazil: community health workers between vulnerability and resistance
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Community health worker case-detection of asthma or reactive airways disease in a resource-poor community in Nicaragua
Early detection of asthma in children has the great potential to reduce morbidity and mortality in children. Researchers conducted a study in a low-income community of Nicaragua to understand the effectiveness of a community health worker-administered questionnaire in detecting childhood asthma. They found that the questionnaire was an effective screening tool and suggest its … [Read more...] about Community health worker case-detection of asthma or reactive airways disease in a resource-poor community in Nicaragua
Associations and community health workers: analysis and time trends over ten years of training-action
Strong training curricula help prepare CHWs to provide high quality care to their communities. Researchers evaluated peer education activities and found that actively engaging CHWs in peer education improves health promotion activities over time. … [Read more...] about Associations and community health workers: analysis and time trends over ten years of training-action
The Community Health Systems Reform Cycle: Strengthening the Integration of Community Health Worker Programs Through an Institutional Reform Perspective
Because community health workers (CHWs) are key to achieving health equity, governments and CHW program managers are interested in effective ways to scale up CHW programs. Experts developed a framework based off of CHW program scale-up efforts across 7 countries and found that successful scaling of CHW programs was dependent on iterative learning and public health solutions … [Read more...] about The Community Health Systems Reform Cycle: Strengthening the Integration of Community Health Worker Programs Through an Institutional Reform Perspective
Brazil’s Community Health Workers Practicing Narrative Medicine: Patients’ Perspectives
Narrative medicine allows healthcare professionals to establish meaningful bonds with their patients through sharing lived experiences. Researchers in Brazil conducted a study to understand how CHWs utilize narrative medicine. The authors found that in using narrative medicine, CHWs were able to exercise compassion, empathy, and attentiveness with their patients. While this is … [Read more...] about Brazil’s Community Health Workers Practicing Narrative Medicine: Patients’ Perspectives