Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) form an important element of many health systems, and in Kenya these volunteers are the foundation for promoting behavior change through health education, earlier case identification, and timely referral to trained health care providers. This study examines the effectiveness of a community health worker project conducted in rural … [Read more...] about Improving Maternal and Newborn Health: Effectiveness of a Community Health Worker Program in Rural Kenya
Kenya
Working with Community Health Workers as ‘volunteers’ in a vaccine trial: Practical and ethical experiences and implications
Community engagement is increasingly emphasized in biomedical research, as a right in itself, and to strengthen ethical practice. We draw on interviews and observations to consider the practical and ethical implications of involving Community Health Workers (CHWs) as part of a community engagement strategy for a vaccine trial on the Kenyan Coast. CHWs were initially engaged as … [Read more...] about Working with Community Health Workers as ‘volunteers’ in a vaccine trial: Practical and ethical experiences and implications
The influence of observation and setting on community health workers’ practices.
This study aims to determine whether results from an evaluation that involved observation of community health workers while they performed patient consultations in a hospital reflected normal everyday practices. We found that community health workers made treatment errors less frequently when they were observed in a hospital in-patient or outpatient department than when they … [Read more...] about The influence of observation and setting on community health workers’ practices.
Community Health Worker Performance in the Management of Multiple Childhood Illnesses: Siaya District, Kenya, 1997–2001
This report summarizes the CHW evaluations conducted in 1998, 1999 and 2001. It also characterizes community health worker (CHW) performance using an algorithm for managing common childhood illnesses in Siaya District, Kenya. Results showed deficiencies were found in the management of sick children by CHWs, although care was not consistently poor. Key reasons for the … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker Performance in the Management of Multiple Childhood Illnesses: Siaya District, Kenya, 1997–2001
Community-Based HIV/AIDS Prevention Care and Support Project (COPHIA)
The COPHIA program emphasizes the provision of home-based care and support services by multi-purpose community-based health workers to vulnerable households coping with the burden of caring for seriously ill family members or orphans and vulnerable children. The COPHIA community-based health workers, with the support of clinical and non-clinical supervisors, provide the direct … [Read more...] about Community-Based HIV/AIDS Prevention Care and Support Project (COPHIA)