Use of data to inform CHW program strategy and day-to-day management

Poor management has often been cited as a common weakness in the sustainability of CHW programs.  This is compounded by a lack of flexibility in management personnel to respond to contextual issues, poor training of managers, and a significant dearth of information on day-to-day performance of dynamic programs.  When a manager is strategic and has access to … [Read more...] about Use of data to inform CHW program strategy and day-to-day management

Last month, Xinia posed this question, which I believe is a central one for many of us working in community health: “How do we ensure educational processes in the community? How do we avoid what I call ‘a mere knowledge transmission’ and substitute it for real educational processes with the people?" My colleague at Hesperian Health Guides, Zena Herman, … [Read more...] about Community Health Guides Part 2: Beyond paper

Hesperian Health Guides is excited to join the CHW Central community in a conversation about developing materials for health education and training. We have been producing practical health  manuals for over 30 years, starting with the publication of Where There Is No Doctor, and we’ve learned  a lot in the process about how to make materials relevant, … [Read more...] about Community Health Guides: Making materials relevant, effective, and empowering

A Ugandan expert patient states, "I accepted my HIV+ status and wanted to help others cope with HIV and come out of stigma. I also wanted to help myself to prevent stress at home, wanted my children to know that being HIV+ is not the end of the world and learn how to live with HIV. I also wanted to help caretakers and the community with taking care of the sick." (2) The … [Read more...] about Task-shifting to expert patients in HIV care

In the United States, as in the rest of the world, Community Health Workers (CHWs) have attracted a great deal of attention lately. In the US this has happened both as a result of ongoing national health care reform and as a general recognition of CHWs’ value and impact on the health of underserved communities in particular. There are some gaps in the US literature … [Read more...] about Selection and training of promotoras: CHW workforce development