South Africa’s National Department of Health (NDoH) intended to determine whether the National Certificate (Vocational), or NC(V), for CHWs met the qualifications set forth by the NDoH and World Health Organization (WHO) for CHW programme optimization. Using qualitative data collection, the researchers found that the NC(V) met the NDoH and WHO guidelines when offered part-time. … [Read more...] about Evaluating community health worker education policy through a National Certificate (Vocational) Primary Health qualification lens
Program Design
The National Village Health Guide Scheme in India: Lessons Four Decades Later for Community Health Worker Programs Today and Tomorrow
National CHW schemes are an increasingly important tool for achieving universal health coverage and ending maternal and child deaths by 2030. This article focuses on critical issues that face the effectiveness of large-scale CHW programs drawing on the experiences of India’s CHW scheme –the Village Health Guides. … [Read more...] about The National Village Health Guide Scheme in India: Lessons Four Decades Later for Community Health Worker Programs Today and Tomorrow
Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM): Updated Program Functionality Matrix for Optimizing Community Health Programs
To support quality CHW program design and implementation, USAID, UNICEF, the Community Health Impact Coalition, and Initiatives Inc. have updated and adapted the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM) Program Functionality Matrix tool. This tool can be applied at district, regional, and national levels to identify and close gaps in design and … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM): Updated Program Functionality Matrix for Optimizing Community Health Programs
Factors enabling community health workers and volunteers to overcome sociocultural barriers to behaviour change: meta-synthesis using the concept of social capital
A meta-synthesis of the existing literature, this article examines 33 publications to identify the factors that enable community health workers to bring about behavior change. It explicitly recognizes the difference between full-time trained and salaried community health workers and part-time community volunteers and proposes an approach to better coordinating the community … [Read more...] about Factors enabling community health workers and volunteers to overcome sociocultural barriers to behaviour change: meta-synthesis using the concept of social capital
Effectiveness of SMS Technology on Timely Community Health Worker Follow-Up for Childhood Malnutrition: A Retrospective Cohort Study in sub-Saharan Africa
This retrospective cohort study examines whether the use of SMS-based data entry by CHWs is more effective than paper forms in the timely CHW follow-up visits for malnutrition screening in children under-5 in sub-Saharan Africa. … [Read more...] about Effectiveness of SMS Technology on Timely Community Health Worker Follow-Up for Childhood Malnutrition: A Retrospective Cohort Study in sub-Saharan Africa