A diverse array of approaches exist to encourage community engagement to achieve communicable disease control. K. Questa and colleagues collected 13 systematic reviews of research examining community engagement-related communicable disease control to understand which approaches to engagement exist and what is known about their effectiveness. Approaches included community … [Read more...] about Community engagement interventions for communicable disease control in low- and lower- middle-income countries: evidence from a review of systematic reviews
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)
Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion
This commentary responds to an article by Sunu Thomas (2020) describing concerns about the role of confidentiality when a research participant discloses sensitive personal information while a CHW is present. The author describes concerns about whether CHWs should bridge the gap between communities and researchers and whether their presence during data collection represents a … [Read more...] about Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion
Rapid literature review: Community health workers
CHWs performed as key actors during the Ebola, Zika, and Marburg outbreaks. Shuchi Srinivasan and Radhika Arora surveyed research examining barriers and facilitators to CHW-based responses to these outbreaks. Some barriers included gaps in knowledge and skills, failure to address PPE-related needs among CHWs, and the mental health impacts of living through a pandemic. … [Read more...] about Rapid literature review: Community health workers
Learning from community health worker programs, big and small
CHW programs demonstrate the potential for great impacts on population health, but interventions sometimes fail as a result of poor transitioning from program piloting to full scale implementation. Stephen Hodgins outlines some of the reasons these programs fail or succeed. He recommends expansions of research conducted both during intervention piloting and also at broad … [Read more...] about Learning from community health worker programs, big and small
Community health workers reveal COVID-19 disaster in Brazil
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian CHWs have received limited access to infection control training and personal protective equipment due to a lack of recognition as health professionals by the government. Gabriela Lotta and her colleagues describe the impacts of these decisions on CHW health and wellbeing. … [Read more...] about Community health workers reveal COVID-19 disaster in Brazil
