CHW Central

A global resource for and about Community Health Workers

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)

Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study

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Maternal and child health outcomes improve with the implementation of CHW home-visiting in urban areas, but less is known about their effects in rural South Africa. Karl le Roux and colleagues compared a rural area with CHW to one without CHWs to determine the effectiveness of CHW home-visits on maternal and child health. CHW home visits were associated with increased … [Read more...] about Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study

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

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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

How should community health workers in fragile contexts be supported: Qualitative evidence from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Democratic Republic of Congo

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CHWs in resource-constrained settings require strong management and support to perform their roles effectively. Joanna Raven and colleagues sought to develop evidence-based support policies by looking at CHW programs in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Democratic Republic of Congo. Results point toward a need for investing in strong Human Resources Management. … [Read more...] about How should community health workers in fragile contexts be supported: Qualitative evidence from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Democratic Republic of Congo

“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

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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

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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