Tanzania has been a pioneer in establishing community-level services, yet challenges remain in sustaining these systems and ensuring adequate human resource strategies. In particular, the added value of a cadre of professional community health workers is under debate. While Tanzania has the highest density of primary health care facilities in Africa, equitable access and … [Read more...] about The Tanzania Connect Project: a cluster-randomized trial of the child survival impact of adding paid community health workers to an existing facility-focused health system
Scale-up
It’s about time: WHO and partners release programming strategies for postpartum family planning
The postpartum period is a critical time to address high unmet family planning need and to reduce the risks of closely spaced pregnancies. Practical tools are included in the new resource for integrating postpartum family planning at points when women have frequent health system contact, including antenatal care, labor and delivery, postnatal care, immunization, … [Read more...] about It’s about time: WHO and partners release programming strategies for postpartum family planning
Measuring return on investment of outreach by community health workers.
Community health workers (CHWs) are effective in improving access to health care, promoting client knowledge and behavior change, and contributing to improved health status of individuals. However, few outreach programs have evaluated the financial impact of CHWs on health care systems and policies. A longitudinal repeated measures design was used to assess the return on … [Read more...] about Measuring return on investment of outreach by community health workers.
Identifying the core elements of effective community health worker programs: a research agenda.
Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly being incorporated into health programs because they are assumed to effectively deliver health messages in a culturally relevant manner to disenfranchised communities. Nevertheless, the role of CHWs-who they are, what they do, and how they do it-is tremendously varied. This variability presents a number of challenges for … [Read more...] about Identifying the core elements of effective community health worker programs: a research agenda.
Community Health Workers in the Midwest: Understanding and developing the workforce
Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a unique and valuable role in their communities, particularly in reducing health disparities by reaching underserved populations. To support efforts to build CHWs into a sustainable component of the health care system, the American Cancer Society - Midwest Division sought to increase understanding of and document the work … [Read more...] about Community Health Workers in the Midwest: Understanding and developing the workforce