A range of formal and informal close-to-community (CTC) health service providers operate in an increasingly urbanized Bangladesh. Informal CTC health service providers play a key role in Bangladesh’s pluralistic health system, yet the reasons for their popularity and their interactions with formal providers and the community are poorly understood. This paper aims to understand … [Read more...] about Exploring the context in which different close-to-community sexual and reproductive health service providers operate in Bangladesh: a qualitative study
Community Involvement
Snap shots from a photo competition: what does it reveal about close-to-community providers, gender and power in health systems?
In this commentary, we discuss a photography competition, launched during the summer of 2014, to explore the everyday stories of how gender plays out within health systems around the world. While no submission fees were charged nor financial awards involved, the winning entries were exhibited at the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Cape Town, South Africa, in … [Read more...] about Snap shots from a photo competition: what does it reveal about close-to-community providers, gender and power in health systems?
‘ Trust and teamwork matter ’ : Community health workers’ experiences in integrated service delivery in India
CHW experiences in Orissa, India go beyond the technical aspects of combining different health systems. Teamwork and building trust with the community were found to be pivotal parts of their practice. The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) primary health care ideology conflicts with the narrow indicators of health system performance (over reliance on statistical evidence, … [Read more...] about ‘ Trust and teamwork matter ’ : Community health workers’ experiences in integrated service delivery in India
Community health workers of Afghanistan: a qualitative study of a national program
In 2003 a Basic Package of Health Services was designed to provide services to the rural population in Afghanistan. This descriptive, qualitative study examines the gender breakdown and effectiveness of the CHW workforce. As some of the 20,000 CHWs across the country move up the hierarchy of supervision and training, management and decision making, the ratio of women to man … [Read more...] about Community health workers of Afghanistan: a qualitative study of a national program
Becoming and remaining community health workers: Perspectives from Ethiopia and Mozambique
Many global health practitioners are currently reaffirming the importance of recruiting and retaining effective community health workers (CHWs) in order to achieve major public health goals. This raises policy-relevant questions about why people become and remain CHWs. This paper addresses these questions, drawing on ethnographic work in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, … [Read more...] about Becoming and remaining community health workers: Perspectives from Ethiopia and Mozambique
