A diverse array of approaches exist to encourage community engagement to achieve communicable disease control. K. Questa and colleagues collected 13 systematic reviews of research examining community engagement-related communicable disease control to understand which approaches to engagement exist and what is known about their effectiveness. Approaches included community … [Read more...] about Community engagement interventions for communicable disease control in low- and lower- middle-income countries: evidence from a review of systematic reviews
Asia
Prediagnostic loss to follow-up in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: a mixed-methods study from rural Bihar, India
The World Health Organization’s End TB strategy seeks to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis by at least 80% by the year 2030, but underreporting and underdiagnosis prevents an accurate assessment of progression toward this goal. Tushar Garg and colleagues assessed whether CHWs could be an effective means for identifying and referring presumptive TB cases to receive treatment. … [Read more...] about Prediagnostic loss to follow-up in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: a mixed-methods study from rural Bihar, India
Effectiveness of a community health worker (CHW) training in monitoring and care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural Gujarat, India
CHWs in rural primary care settings can contribute to reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are especially valuable in countries like India, where COPD is the second leading cause of disease and is responsible for the deaths of as many as one million residents annually. Gupta and colleagues assessed the … [Read more...] about Effectiveness of a community health worker (CHW) training in monitoring and care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural Gujarat, India
Unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications: cross-sectional analysis of data from rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Indian women represent one in every seven of the 85 million women who experience unintended pregnancy each year. This high concentration is likely due to limited engagement with the local health system and puts women at risk of maternal health complications like pre-eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, and postpartum pre-eclampsia. Nabamllika Dehingia and colleagues assessed … [Read more...] about Unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications: cross-sectional analysis of data from rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion
This commentary responds to an article by Sunu Thomas (2020) describing concerns about the role of confidentiality when a research participant discloses sensitive personal information while a CHW is present. The author describes concerns about whether CHWs should bridge the gap between communities and researchers and whether their presence during data collection represents a … [Read more...] about Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion