The growth in capacity and geographic reach of mobile technology has important implications for health and development. While mobile technology is commonly used to address health systems challenges, Pathfinder International is exploring the application of mobile technology to improve implementation for sexual and reproductive health and rights, necessarily … [Read more...] about mHealth as a Tool for Integrated Systems Strengthening in Sexual and Reproductive Health Programming
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Influence of community health volunteers on care seeking and treatment coverage for common childhood illnesses in the context of free health care in rural Sierra Leone
This study aimed to examine whether community health volunteers induced significant changes in care-seeking and treatment of ill children under five 2 years after their deployment in two underserved districts of Sierra Leone. The presence of community health volunteers was associated with a 105% increase in appropriate treatment for pneumonia and a 55% drop … [Read more...] about Influence of community health volunteers on care seeking and treatment coverage for common childhood illnesses in the context of free health care in rural Sierra Leone
A Mobile Phone-Based, Community Health Worker Program for Referral, Follow-Up, and Service Outreach in Rural Zambia: Outcomes and Overview
Mobile health (m-health) utilizes widespread access to mobile phone technologies to expand health services. Community health workers (CHWs) provide first-level contact with health facilities; combining CHW efforts with m-health may be an avenue for improving primary care services. As part of a primary care improvement project, a pilot CHW program was developed using a mobile … [Read more...] about A Mobile Phone-Based, Community Health Worker Program for Referral, Follow-Up, and Service Outreach in Rural Zambia: Outcomes and Overview
Care Groups II: A Summary of the Child Survival Outcomes Achieved using Volunteer Community Health Workers in Resource- Contstrained Settings
Care Group projects resulted in high levels of healthy behavior, including use of oral rehydration therapy, bed nets, and health care services. Accordingly, under-5 mortality in Care Groups areas declined by an estimated 32% compared with 11% in areas with child survival projects not using Core Groups. … [Read more...] about Care Groups II: A Summary of the Child Survival Outcomes Achieved using Volunteer Community Health Workers in Resource- Contstrained Settings
Care Groups I: An Innovative Community-Based Strategy for Improving Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health in Resource-Constrained Settings
Care Groups use volunteers to motivate mothers to adopt key MCH behaviors. The volunteers meet as a group every 2-4 weeks with a paid facilitator to learn new health promotion messages. Key ingredients of the approach include: peer-to-peer health promotion, selection of volunteers by the mothers, a manageable workload for the volunteers (no more than 15 households per … [Read more...] about Care Groups I: An Innovative Community-Based Strategy for Improving Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health in Resource-Constrained Settings