Asia

The Community Health Systems Reform Cycle: Strengthening the Integration of Community Health Worker Programs Through an Institutional Reform Perspective

Because community health workers (CHWs) are key to achieving health equity, governments and CHW program managers are interested in effective ways to scale up CHW programs. Experts developed a framework based off of CHW program scale-up efforts across 7 countries and found that successful scaling of CHW programs was dependent on iterative learning and public health solutions … [Read more...] about The Community Health Systems Reform Cycle: Strengthening the Integration of Community Health Worker Programs Through an Institutional Reform Perspective

In the Philippines, where the healthcare system is decentralized, the support of community health workers (CHWs) to achieve universal health coverage varies. The authors conducted a qualitative study to understand how the lived experiences of CHWs were influenced by varying political and social contexts. They found that across different contexts, financial resource allocation … [Read more...] about Governance of community health worker programs in a decentralized health system: a qualitative study in the Philippines

In Bangladesh, community health workers (CHWs) were integral in implementing a water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) program. The authors studied the lived experiences of CHWs in the program to inform future implementation. CHWs reported positive effects of participation in the program, such as increased confidence and a sense of respect in the community. In addition to these … [Read more...] about The Lived Experiences of Community Health Workers Serving in a Large-Scale Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Intervention Trial in Rural Bangladesh

Community health workers are essential for providing malaria-related healthcare services in both the Greater Mekong Subregion and Central America. This mixed-method study evaluated CHW programs in Laos and Honduras to further understand the vertical organization of CHW-delivered malaria services. To maintain the near-zero malaria incidence rate achieved in 2019 in both … [Read more...] about Evaluating Vertical Malaria Community Health Worker Programs as Malaria Declines: Learning From Program Evaluations in Honduras and Lao PDR

In Afghanistan, where a majority of births take place outside of a formal healthcare system and without a skilled health professional, postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) is a high risk. The authors of this study conducted a randomized-controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of a prophylactic drug, misoprostol, on treating PPH. Community health workers (CHWs) identified cases … [Read more...] about Testing a home-based model of care using misoprostol for prevention and treatment of postpartum hemorrhage: results from a randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted in Badakhshan province, Afghanistan