Community health workers (CHWs) are used increasingly in the world to address shortages of health workers and the lack of a pervasive national health system. However, while their role is often described at a policy level, it is not clear how these ideals are instantiated in practice, how best to support this work, or how the work is interpreted by local actors. CHWs are often … [Read more...] about What do community health workers have to say about their work, and how can this inform improved programme design? A case study with CHWs within Kenya
Leadership
mPowering Frontline Health Workers: CHW Consultations
This report outlines a series of workshops convened by mPowering Frontline Health Workers and partners to consider whether the global health community is following the most beneficial route to provide relevant and effective health training for FLHWs. Focusing in particular on CHWs, who work directly in the communities they serve, the forums … [Read more...] about mPowering Frontline Health Workers: CHW Consultations
Better Health Through Equity
Healthy People 2020, the nation’s health objectives for the current decade, defines health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and health … [Read more...] about Better Health Through Equity
It’s not Ebola…it’s the systems
The 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa demonstrates key deficiencies in investment in health systems. Despite some modest investment in health systems, our field has instead largely chosen to pursue shorter-term, vertical efforts to more rapidly address key global health issues such as smallpox, polio, malaria, and HIV/AIDS. While those efforts have yielded … [Read more...] about It’s not Ebola…it’s the systems
Community Health Worker Credentialing: State Approaches
Community health workers (CHWs) have shown, time and again, that they can improve health outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. Reductions in chronic illness, improved medication adherence, more patient involvement, and better community health have been accompanied by a return on investment of more than $2 for every dollar invested. Yet several barriers … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker Credentialing: State Approaches