Inconsistent management of South African CHW programs generally, and ward-based outreach teams WBOTS particularly, derive in part from a lack of policy regulation. Decisions about how to improve programming policy and generate best practices must quantify costs of service delivery for various types of geographical communities. Donela Beseda and colleagues evaluated differences … [Read more...] about Resource requirements for community-based care in rural, deep-rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa: A comparative analysis in 2 South African provinces
Research
Role of community health workers in improving cost efficiency in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: an operational research study from rural Bihar, India
The World Health Organization estimates that as much as thirty percent of cases of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide remain unidentified. Tushar Garg and colleagues examined whether active case finding performed by CHWs in Bihar, India represents a cost-effective strategy for TB identification and whether or not participation impedes CHW provision of other services. CHWs performing … [Read more...] about Role of community health workers in improving cost efficiency in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: an operational research study from rural Bihar, India
“They have been neglected for a long time”: a qualitative study on the role of recognition of rural health motivators in the Shiselweni region, Eswatini
As the face of Swaziland’s CHW programme, Rural Health Motivators (RHM) provide health promotion messaging, household assessments, and general community health referrals, with some HIV- and tuberculosis-related (TB) responsibilities. The best method to support RHMs as they perform HIV and TB responsibilities remains unclear due to the decentralized nature of the program. … [Read more...] about “They have been neglected for a long time”: a qualitative study on the role of recognition of rural health motivators in the Shiselweni region, Eswatini
Community health worker motivation to perform systematic household contact tuberculosis investigation in a high burden metropolitan district in South Africa
South Africa implemented a primary health care reform initiative in 2012 to increase universal health coverage by implementing ward-based primary health care outreach teams (WBPHCOTs) relying primarily on the support of CHWs. Gladys Kigozi and colleagues developed a survey to measure CHW motivation to participate in these WBPHCOTs in the Mangaung Metropolitan District, Free … [Read more...] about Community health worker motivation to perform systematic household contact tuberculosis investigation in a high burden metropolitan district in South Africa
Considerations for building sustainable community health worker programs to improve maternal health
Despite growing evidence of the efficacy of CHW programs to achieve universal health coverage, limited short-term program funding in the US constrains the sustainability of these programs. Renee Mehra and colleagues examined factors contributing to sustainability of CHW programs targeting maternal health. They identified three key themes influencing program sustainability: … [Read more...] about Considerations for building sustainable community health worker programs to improve maternal health