Countries seeking to expand health services to the community-level to ensure equity of access to care frequently turn to community health workers (CHW) as an essential expansion of the health team. A variety of approaches to training, hiring and supporting community health workers have been implemented by countries, and there are many important lessons learned to be … [Read more...] about Sustaining the Impact of Community Health Workers: Evidence from Health System Assessments
Sustainability
Valuing and Sustaining (or Not) the Ability of Volunteer Community Health Workers to Deliver Integrated Community Case Management in Northern Ghana: A Qualitative Study
This study sought to understand the experience of the integrated community case management of childhood illnesses (iCCM) program in Accra and the Northern Region of Ghana from the local UNICEF staff, their partners, researchers, CHWs and others. Results found that both mothers and facility level staff appreciated CHWs efforts to localize the treatment of childhood illnesses. … [Read more...] about Valuing and Sustaining (or Not) the Ability of Volunteer Community Health Workers to Deliver Integrated Community Case Management in Northern Ghana: A Qualitative Study
Community Health Workers in California: Sharpening Our Focus on Strategies to Expand Engagement
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides a policy framework to re-imagine a system of care that emphasizes health and wellness through new models of primary care and population health interventions. These new models offer the potential to deliver care services at a lower cost, to detect and treat disease earlier, to deploy data and technology to improve … [Read more...] about Community Health Workers in California: Sharpening Our Focus on Strategies to Expand Engagement
Promising Approaches to Integrating Community Health Workers into Health Systems: Four Case Studies
The productive roles that community health workers (CHWs) can play in health care are drawing increasing interest among US policymakers, providers, insurers, and other stakeholders. While there is a growing interest, little has been documented about the scope of practice, supervision, and human resources standards implemented by states and by employers of CHWs, or how CHWs are … [Read more...] about Promising Approaches to Integrating Community Health Workers into Health Systems: Four Case Studies
Opportunities for Community Health Workers in the Era of Health Reform
Health reform has created a watershed moment for community health workers (CHWs). Both coverage expansions and a new focus on creating value in health care offer new opportunities for CHWs. This paper assesses existing impediments to and enablers of the expansion of CHW employment. It catalogues how the ACA and other health reform efforts affect prospects for sustainable … [Read more...] about Opportunities for Community Health Workers in the Era of Health Reform