Results: 3217
Retrospective comparative evaluation of the lasting impact of a community-based primary health programme on under-5 mortality in villages around Jamkhed, India (2010)
The Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP) is a community-based program that provides primary care services utilizing village health workers and mobile health teams. The researchers conducted an impact evaluation of CRHP on childhood mortality over the period of September 1992 and December 2007. They concluded that community-based programs such asRead more…
Training Community Health Workers: Using Technology and Distance Education (2006)
This paper provides an overview of programs that use technology and distance education to train CHWs in rural areas. Challenges identified in the paper include: consistent use of definitions; appropriate technology formats; access to technology; cultural competency of faculty; support for faculty and students; and quality assurance. The authors concludeRead more…
TB HIV Training Manual for Community Health Workers (2009)
This training manual assists community leaders and CHWs to provide correct information on TB and TB/HIV co-infection, as well as on stigma and discrimination. The training prepares CHWs to share information and answer questions about TB and TB/HIV co-infection, promote TB prevention, encourage people to go for TB diagnosis andRead more…
Task shifting in HIV/AIDS: opportunities, challenges and proposed actions for sub-Saharan Africa (2008)
This review paper examines key opportunities and challenges presented when task shifting is used to rapidly expand human resource capacity to address HIV/AIDS. Opportunities include: increasing access to life-saving treatment; improving workforce skills mix and health system efficiency; enhancing the role of the community; cost savings; and reducing attrition andRead more…
Systems support for task-shifting to community health workers (2007)
This paper outlines the importance of a systems approach when task shifting to CHWs, arguing that it cannot work unless close attention is paid to both the systems that support successful implementation and to needed expansion of human resources within the overall health care system. The paper incorporates discussion onRead more…
Tuberculosis Control in Developing Countries: A Generalized Community Health Worker Based Model (2004)
This report analyzes the BRAC model in Bangladesh for Tuberculosis (TB) control and offers an alternate model, a community-based model that relies heavily on community health workers. The importance of utilizing community health workers to reduce the burden of TB is discussed throughout the report. It also speaks to theRead more…
Systems Support for Task-Shifting to Community Health Workers (2007)
This technical brief discusses necessary elements of a successful approach to task-shifting of life-saving services to CHWs. The document highlights the importance of systems for planning and regulation, education and training, supervision, referral and evaluation.
Scaling-up the Community-Based Health Workforce for Emergencies (2011)
From the World Health Organization: This Joint Statement was developed by the Global Health Workforce Alliance together with the WHO, IFRC, UNHCR, UNICEF and WHO. It aims at drawing attention to the vital role played by CHWs in emergency risk management; promoting the scale-up, training and involvement of CHWs; andRead more…
Lay health workers in primary and community health care: A systematic review of trials (2006)
This review examines randomized control trials that tested the effectiveness of lay health worker (LHW) interventions on improving Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and addressing key high-burden diseases in low and middle income countries. The authors found that the use of LHWs in health programs showed benefits when compared withRead more…
Community health workers as a cornerstone for integrating HIV and primary healthcare (2007)
This paper describes the contribution of the non-governmental organization Zanmi Lasante (ZL) to scaling up HIV prevention and treatment and improving primary health care services in the public health system in Haiti. ZL’s model utilizes CHWs to supervise antiretroviral therapy and provide community outreach, including active case finding and outreachRead more…
Using Community Health Workers for Malaria Control: Experience in Zaire (1996)
This study examine the impact of using CHWs in the Katan Health Zone in Zaire to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. CHWs were trained and supported to administer timely and effective treatment for presumptive malaria attacks. The authors conclude that the introduction of dedicated CHWs can lead to improved accessRead more…
Malawi: Distribution of DMPA at the Community Level- Lessons Learned (2009)
In 2008, Malawi piloted the distribution of the injectable contraceptive DMPA by Health Surveillance Assistants. This report presents lessons learned, during the initial training and implementation roll-out, which will be valuable for other countries planning similar community-based distribution systems. The report pays particular attention to the supply chain implications ofRead more…
Taking Critical Services to the Home: Scaling-up Home-based Maternal and Postnatal Care, including Family Planning, through Community Midwifery in Kenya (2008)
In Kenya, with USAID support, the Population Council’s FRONTIERS in Reproductive Health project supported the scale up of a model that enabled women to give birth at home or to be referred to a hospital when attended by a self-employed skilled midwife living in the community. This report describes theRead more…
Task Shifting: rational redistribution of tasks among health workforce teams: global recommendations and guidelines (2008)
WHO puts forward a set of 22 recommendations to provide guidance to countries considering adopting or extending a task-shifting approach. These recommendations were developed through a one-year process of country consultation, extensive data-gathering, and broad consultation among a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
An Evidence-Based Policy Brief- Task Shifting to optimise the roles of health workers to improve the delivery of maternal and child healthcare (2010)
This report summarizes the best available evidence regarding the design and implementation of “task shifting” policies extending the use of non-medically trained primary health care workers to deliver cost-effective maternal and child health interventions. The report’s purpose is to inform deliberations and decision-making among policymakers and stakeholders.
The Ghana Community-based Health Planning and Services Initiative for scaling up service delivery (2005)
This paper reviews the development of the Community-based Heath Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative, describes the processes of implementation and relates the initiative to the principles of scaling up organizational change which it embraces. Over a 2-year period, 104 out of 110 districts in Ghana started CHPS, employing strategies testedRead more…
Accelerating reproductive and child health programme impact with community-based services: the Navrongo experiment in Ghana (2006)
This article compares the demographic and health impact of deploying health service nurses and volunteers in village locations. The authors found that assigning nurses to community locations to provide basic curative and preventive care substantially reduced childhood mortality and accelerates progress towards attainment of the child survival MDG. Approaches usingRead more…
Lessons from Community-based Distribution of Family Planning in Africa (1999)
This paper reviews several initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa to implement community-based distribution (CBD) of family planning services. Although research suggests that community-based service delivery can contribute to contraceptive use, the magnitude of impact is often in doubt. This report reviews reasons for the limited impact of CBD in Africa, comparedRead more…
Contraceptive Injections by Community Health Workers in Uganda (2013)
This study compared the safety and quality of contraceptive injections given by community-based health workers with those given by clinic-based nurses in a rural Nakasongola District, Uganda. A nonrandomized community trial compared provision of injectable Depo Provera (DMPA) by community reproductive health workers with routine DPMA provision at health units.Read more…
Community-based health workers achieve high coverage in neonatal intervention trials: a case study from Sylhet, Bangladesh (2010)
This paper describes a large-scale community-based efficacy trial of chlorhexidine for cleansing the umbilical cord conducted in rural north-eastern Bangladesh. The trial established a two-tiered system of community-based workers: paid community health workers (CHWs) and volunteer village health workers (VHWs). The community-based workers delivered a package of essential maternal andRead more…
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