As low- and middle-income countries face continued shortages of human resources for health and the double burden of infectious and chronic diseases, there is renewed international interest in the potential for community health workers to assume a growing role in strengthening health systems. A growing list of tasks, some of them complex, is being shifted to community health … [Read more...] about Task-shifting and prioritization: a situational analysis examining the role and experiences of community health workers in Malawi
Malawi
Improving the quality of data collected by community health workers in rural Malawi
In 2007, Abwenzi Pa Za Umoyo (APZU), the sister organization of Partners In Health (PIH) in Malawi, began a community health worker program to support HIV care in the remote, rural district of Neno. The program was designed to complement and be integrated with a Ministry of Health national HIV care program. The addition of community health workers allows HIV care and treatment … [Read more...] about Improving the quality of data collected by community health workers in rural Malawi
Taking knowledge for health the extra mile: participatory evaluation of a mobile phone intervention for community health workers in Malawi
In Malawi, where the majority of the population resides in rural areas, community health workers (CHWs) are the first, and often only, providers of health services. An assessment of health information needs, however, found that these frontline workers often lacked essential health information. A pilot project, implemented in 2 rural districts of Malawi between 2010 and 2011, … [Read more...] about Taking knowledge for health the extra mile: participatory evaluation of a mobile phone intervention for community health workers in Malawi
Taking knowledge for health the extra mile: participatory evaluation of a mobile phone intervention for community health workers in Malawi
In Malawi, where the majority of the population resides in rural areas, community health workers (CHWs) are the first, and often only, providers of health services. A pilot project, implemented in 2 rural districts of Malawi between 2010 and 2011, introduced a mobile phone system to strengthen knowledge exchange within networks of CHWs and district staff. To evaluate the … [Read more...] about Taking knowledge for health the extra mile: participatory evaluation of a mobile phone intervention for community health workers in Malawi
The Tingathe programme: a pilot intervention using community health workers to create a continuum of care in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) cascade of services in Malawi.
Loss to follow-up is a major challenge in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programme in Malawi with reported loss to follow-up of greater than 70%. Tingathe-PMTCT is a pilot intervention that utilizes dedicated community health workers (CHWs) to create a complete continuum of care within the PMTCT cascade, improving service utilization and retention … [Read more...] about The Tingathe programme: a pilot intervention using community health workers to create a continuum of care in the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) cascade of services in Malawi.