The planned roll out of the Community Health Extension Worker (CHEW) program in Uganda is set to be implemented in 2018. Based on the Ugandan Ministry of Health’s extensive experience with Village Health Teams in the past decade, this commentary addresses potential challenges that will arise in the implementation of the new CHEW program. … [Read more...] about Potential challenges of implementing the Community Health Extension Worker programme in Uganda
Best practices
What do we know about community-based health worker programs? A systematic review of existing reviews on community health workers
Globally, CHW programs are rapidly expanding; yet questions remain about what makes a successful CHW program. This systematic review synthesizes existing evidence on effective CHW program design and management in health systems. … [Read more...] about What do we know about community-based health worker programs? A systematic review of existing reviews on community health workers
Can lay health workers support the management of hypertension? Findings of a cluster randomised trial in South Africa
With the urgency of the HIV and TB epidemics in some low and middle-income countries, prevalent chronic diseases such as hypertension are often neglected by health services. This study assesses whether task-shifting from nurses to lay health workers (LHWs) improves the management of hypertension in rural primary healthcare clinics in South Africa. … [Read more...] about Can lay health workers support the management of hypertension? Findings of a cluster randomised trial in South Africa
Diabetes management training for female community health volunteers in Western Nepal: an implementation experience
This study evaluates a community-based diabetes management program involving female community health volunteers (FCHVs) under the government run FCHVs program. … [Read more...] about Diabetes management training for female community health volunteers in Western Nepal: an implementation experience
Community health workers: to train or to restrain? A longitudinal survey to assess the impact of training community health workers in the Bolama Region, Guinea-Bissau
With a shortage of health human resources in Guinea-Bissau, CHWs play an essential role in the diagnosis and treatment of childhood diarrheal diseases. This paper seeks to evaluate the short-term effects of training on CHWs’ performance diagnosing and treating diarrheal diseases in children under 5 years old and the accuracy of such diagnosis at 1 and 3 months after … [Read more...] about Community health workers: to train or to restrain? A longitudinal survey to assess the impact of training community health workers in the Bolama Region, Guinea-Bissau