Results: 3217
Improving access to child health services at the community level in Zambia: a country case study on progress in child survival, 2000–2013 (2017)
This study on child survival, presents indicators, national document, and qualitative data from key informants and community women describing the factors that have enabled Zambia to successfully reduce under-five mortality over the last 15 years and achieve Millennial Development Goal (MDG) #4. Study results found a Zambian national commitment toRead more…
Contraceptive uptake after training community health workers in couples counseling: A cluster randomized trial (2017)
The objective of this paper was to assess if training Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) in couples counseling would increase modern family planning uptake among young women in Malawi. In this cluster randomized controlled trial, 30 HSAs from Lilongwe, Malawi received training in family planning. The HSAs were then randomized 1:1Read more…
Effects of a social accountability approach, CARE’s Community Score Card, on reproductive health-related outcomes in Malawi: A cluster-randomized controlled evaluation (2017)
This study evaluated the effects of a social accountability approach, CARE’s Community Score Card (CSC), on reproductive health outcomes in Ntcheu district, Malawi using a cluster-randomized control design. Two independent cross-sectional surveys of women who had given birth in the last 12 months, at baseline and at two years post-baselineRead more…
Year in Review 2016—World Vision International Health and Nutrition (2017)
In this “2016 Year in Review”, World Vision shares notable observations on persistent challenges to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), alongside key examples and innovations demonstrating how they are tackling them.
Hope and despair: community health assistants’ experiences of working in a rural district in Zambia. (2014)
This paper explores the motivation to become a community health assistant (CHA) in Zambia, the experiences of working in a rural district, and how these experiences affected CHAs’ motivation to work. To examine CHAs’ experiences, data was collected through in-depth interviews with 12 CHAs and observations were analyzed using aRead more…
Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of lay health worker programmes to improve access to maternal and child health: qualitative evidence synthesis. (2017)
This article synthesizes the qualitative evidence of the effectiveness of lay health workers (LHWs) as well as the factors affecting implementation of LHW programs for maternal and child health. 53 studies were included primarily describing the experiences of LHWs, program recipients, and other health workers. Results from the review suggestRead more…
Innovation in health service delivery: integrating community health assistants into the health system at district level in Zambia (2017)
This paper explores the factors that shaped the acceptability and adoption of community health assistants (CHAs) into the health system at the district level in Zambia. Using thematic analysis, data was collected through a review of documents, 6 focus group discussions with community leaders, and 12 key informant interviews withRead more…
The 1st International Symposium on Community Health Workers—Final Report (2017)
This is the final report of the key findings from the 1st International Symposium on Community Health Workers. The symposium took place from February 21-23, 2017 in Kampala Uganda.
Does task shifting yield cost savings and improve efficiency for health systems? A systematic review of evidence from low-income and middle-income countries (2017)
Research has demonstrated that task shifting, including the use of CHWs to deliver care, can improve population health. This systematic review examines whether task shifting in LMICs results in efficiency improvements by achieving cost savings. The authors identified 794 articles, and included 34 in the study. They found that substantialRead more…
A systematic review of strategies to increase access to health services among children in low and middle income countries (2017)
This systematic review examines the effectiveness of interventions aimed at increasing access to health services for children aged 5 years and below in LMIC. Fifty-seven studies were included in the review, and approximately half of studies (49%) were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa. The studies evaluated a diverse range of interventionsRead more…
Community Health Worker Programmes in the WHO African Region: Evidence and Options (2017)
The purpose of this policy brief is to inform discussions and decisions in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region on policies, strategies and programmes to increase access to primary health care (PHC) services and make progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) by expanding the implementation of scaled-up CHW programmes.
Community health worker perspectives on a new primary health care initiative in the Eastern Cape of South Africa (2017)
This study sought to understand CHW perspectives on a new primary health initiative in South Africa called Re-engineering Primary Health Care (rPHC). This initiative aims to provide a preventive and health-promoting community-based PHC model. Focus group discussions and surveys on the knowledge and attitudes of 91 CHWs working on community-basedRead more…
Community Health Workers as Social Marketers of Injectable Contraceptives: A Case Study from Ethiopia (2017)
This study in Tigray, Ethiopia investigated the impact of a service delivery model that combined community-based distribution (CBD) of contraception with social marketing. 626 volunteer CHWs were recruited and trained to administer depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) injections, provide counseling and referrals, and promote demand for family planning through door-to-door outreachRead more…
Strengthening Human Resources for Nutrition (2017)
SPRING works to strengthen human resources for nutrition with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of formally-trained professional and frontline workers in nutrition, as prioritized by USAID’s Multi-Sectoral Nutrition Strategy 2014-15. This collection of resources includes the latest news, activities, publications, media, and events on strengthening human resources for nutrition.
The Influence of Community Health Resources on Effectiveness and Sustainability of Community and Lay Health Worker Programs in Lower-Income Countries: A Systematic Review (2017)
This review explores the current evidence available to assess if increased levels of integration of community health resources in CHW programs leads to higher program effectiveness and sustainability. 32 articles were chosen for an extensive review, complemented by analysis of the results of 15 other review studies. Analysis found noRead more…
A scorecard for assessing functionality of community health unit in Kenya (2017)
Amref Health Africa in Kenya has developed a replicable Community Health Units (CHUs) Functionality Scorecard for measuring and managing the functionality of CHUs. The scorecard was designed and piloted at 114 CHUs in Rift Valley province in Kenya. The scorecard categorized CHUs as Functional, Semi-functional, or Non-Functional. Before and afterRead more…
Effect of Community Health Strategy on Focused Antenatal Care Coverage: A Pretest-Posttest Experimental Study in Rural Mwingi West Sub-County; Kenya (2017)
In Kenya, maternal and child mortality rates are still high despite government efforts aimed at improving MCH. This study’s objective was to determine the effect of a CHW led primary health care intervention, Community Health Strategy (CHS) on focused antenatal care (FANC) in Mwingi, Kenya. Researchers employed a pretest -posttestRead more…
Stakeholder’s perspective: Sustainability of a community health worker program in Afghanistan (2017)
The objectives of this study were to examine how different stakeholders define sustainability and to identify barriers to and facilitators of the sustainability of the Afghan CHW program. 63 key informants were interviewed, and 11 focus groups were conducted with policymakers, health managers, community health workers, and community members. TheRead more…
Mobilizing Action on Violence Against Women—A Hand Book for ASHAs (2017)
This handbook provides information and tools to address violence against women. Included in the resource is a definition of different types of violence, signs and symptoms to be aware of, consequences of violence against women, the role of a CHW in addressing violence against women, and situations for discussion. WhileRead more…
Community Health Committees (CHCs) and Health Facility Management Committees (HFMCs) Program Functionality Assessment (2017)
This document provides tools for assessing the functionality of two types of representative health groups: the Community Health Committee (CHC) and the Health Facility Management Committee (HFMC). Tools are available to assess program functionality through documents such as a roles and responsibilities checklist, assessment and improvement matrices, a validation questionnaire,Read more…
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