South Africa

Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study

by

Maternal and child health outcomes improve with the implementation of CHW home-visiting in urban areas, but less is known about their effects in rural South Africa. Karl le Roux and colleagues compared a rural area with CHW to one without CHWs to determine the effectiveness of CHW home-visits on maternal and child health. CHW home visits were associated with increased … [Read more...] about Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study

Resource requirements for community-based care in rural, deep-rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A comparative analysis in 2 South African provinces

by

Inconsistent management of South African CHW programs generally, and ward-based outreach teams WBOTS particularly, derive in part from a lack of policy regulation. Decisions about how to improve programming policy and generate best practices must quantify costs of service delivery for various types of geographical communities. Donela Beseda and colleagues evaluated differences … [Read more...] about Resource requirements for community-based care in rural, deep-rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A comparative analysis in 2 South African provinces

Community health worker motivation to perform systematic household contact tuberculosis investigation in a high burden metropolitan district in South Africa

by

South Africa implemented a primary health care reform initiative in 2012 to increase universal health coverage by implementing ward-based primary health care outreach teams (WBPHCOTs) relying primarily on the support of CHWs. Gladys Kigozi and colleagues developed a survey to measure CHW motivation to participate in these WBPHCOTs in the Mangaung Metropolitan District, Free … [Read more...] about Community health worker motivation to perform systematic household contact tuberculosis investigation in a high burden metropolitan district in South Africa

Can people-centered community-oriented interventions improve skilled birth attendance? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study in rural communities of Cambodia, Kenya, and Zambia

by

Skilled birth attendance provided by CHWs increases access to culturally relevant treatment support, home-based care, and antenatal care. One way to strengthen CHW systems and subsequent provision of care relies on community scorecards to improve health service utilization. Anbrasi Edward and colleagues evaluated the effects of combined use of community scorecards and CHW … [Read more...] about Can people-centered community-oriented interventions improve skilled birth attendance? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study in rural communities of Cambodia, Kenya, and Zambia

Household coverage, quality and costs of care provided by community health worker teams and the determining factors: findings from a mixed methods study in South Africa

by

Insufficient supervision prevents CHWs from realizing their potential to achieve universal health coverage. Jane Goudge and colleagues evaluated the impacts of various configurations of supervisors on CHW coverage, quality of care, and costs of service provision in Sedibeng, South Africa. CHWs visited 17% of households in the last year, conducting one-to-two visits per day and … [Read more...] about Household coverage, quality and costs of care provided by community health worker teams and the determining factors: findings from a mixed methods study in South Africa