Results: 3217
Community-directed interventions for major health problems in Africa (2008)
In 2005, a three-year multi-country study was launched to examine how the Community Directed Intervention (CDI) approach, which had been remarkably successful in distributing ivermectin for treatment of onchocerciasis, could be used alongside ivermectin for integrated delivery (or co-implementation) of four other health interventions: Vitamin A supplementation, distribution of insecticide-treatedRead more…
Administration of misoprostol by trained traditional birth attendants to prevent postpartum haemorrhage in homebirths in Pakistan: a randomised placebo-controlled trial (2010)
This trial sought to determine if misoprostol is safe and efficacious in preventing postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) when administered by trained birth attendants (TBAs) at home deliveries. The authors found that the administration of misoprostol by trained TBAs at home deliveries reduced the rate of PPH by 24%. The authors noteRead more…
Community Health Workers – Key messages (2010)
From the World Health Organization: A global consultation of programme managers, policy makers and experts was convened by the Alliance in April 2010 in Montreux, Switzerland, to review the recommendations of a systematic review on Community Health Workers (CHWs), share experiences, and develop broad agreement on key messages for countriesRead more…
One Million Community Health Workers Technical Task Force Report (2011)
In response to widespread recognition of the need to scale up community health workers as a part of primary health systems in sub-Saharan Africa, this technical report was prepared to consolidate scientific and implementation experience in a series of recommendations and guidelines. This technical taskforce report focuses on providing broadRead more…
Community health workers and the response to HIV/AIDS in South Africa: tensions and prospects (2008)
This paper summarizes the key features of the emerging national CHW program in South Africa. This includes CHWs’ integration into a national public works program and the use of non-governmental organizations as intermediaries. The paper also reports on one province, the Free State investigating CHW numbers and training, specifically withRead more…
Community acceptability of use of rapid diagnostic tests for malaria by community health workers in Uganda (2010)
This study assesses community acceptability of the use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) by Ugandan CHWs, locally referred to as community medicine distributors (CMDs). The study found that the use of RDTs by CMDs is likely to be acceptable by community members provided that CMDs are properly trained, and receiveRead more…
Factors Affecting Recruitment and Retention of Community Health Workers in a Newborn Care Intervention in Bangladesh (2010)
This study investigates reasons for high rates of CHW attrition in Sylhet District in northeastern Bangladesh. The framework presented in this paper illustrates the decision-making process women go through when deciding to become, or continue as, a CHW. Factors such as job satisfaction, community valuation of CHW work, and fulfillmentRead more…
Healthy Villages: A guide for communities and community health workers (2002)
This guide outlines the type of information and approaches that Healthy Villages managers could provide to their communities; it can be used as the basis for developing material that is specific to regions or to entire countries. Healthy Villages deals with achieving good health through: water, excreta disposal, drainage, solidRead more…
Barriers to Advanced Education for Indigenous Australian Health Workers: An Exploratory Study (2009)
This study assesses the career goals of local Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs) and community stakeholders to identify barriers to undertaking advanced health education. It uses open-ended interviews with nine participants in two communities in Northwest Queensland, Australia and found that, although interest in careers like medicine and nursing were expressed,Read more…
Are vaccination programmes delivered by lay health workers cost-effective? A systematic review (2009)
This is a systematic review of the costs and cost-effectiveness of using community health workers in vaccination programmes. The review only identified three studies that met their inclusion criteria. Methodologically, the studies were strong but did not adequately address affordability and sustainability and were also highly heterogeneous in terms ofRead more…
Increasing access to Family Planning (FP) and Reproductive Health (RH) services through task-sharing between CHWs and community mid-level professionals in large-scale public-sector programs: A Literature Review to Help Guide Case Studies (2011)
CHW programs throughout the world vary in structure and emphasis. This literature review addresses the challenge of making connections among inputs, processes and outcomes of these diverse community programs. Completed as part of the USAID-funded project of the same name, it analyses 78 of the most useful documents on CHWRead more…
Primary Health Care for Remote Village Communities in Honduras: A Model for Training and Support of Community Health Workers (2009)
This article presents a model for the development of sustainable primary health care in village communities in Honduras through the training and support of CHWs. The model, piloted in Comayagua, follows a “bottom-up” approach. A training curriculum for CHWs was developed that addressed the area’s predominant health problems and madeRead more…
Community Health Worker Programs: A Review of Recent Literature (2010)
This paper reviews recently published literature on community health worker programs, primarily focusing on maternal and newborn child health. Eighteen CHW programs and eleven relevant articles were included. It identifies key components of successful CHWs programs, reviews past successes and failures of CHW program implementation and summarizes important lessons learned.
Community Health Worker Code of Ethics Toolkit (2008)
This toolkit is designed to guide professional CHW organizations through the process of developing and adopting a code of ethics. Having a code of ethics can enhance CHWs’ relationships with the community, promote professionalism, legitimize CHWs as members of health care teams and provide guidance in solving ethical quandaries. TheRead more…
Reducing Malnutrition and Child Deaths Using Care Groups (2009)
This is an audio and slide presentation from 2009 by the director of health programs at Food for the Hungry (FH), Thomas P. Davis Jr. In it, Davis discusses FH’s utilization of “care groups” to reduce malnutrition and child deaths in Mozambique. The care group method, developed by World Relief,Read more…
Community-Based Access to Injectable Contraceptives Toolkit (2011)
This toolkit provides a variety of resources that form a platform for strengthening organizations’ capacity to promote community-based access to injectable contraceptives and to advocate for national policy and service delivery guidelines. The components of the toolkit address program planning, implementation, evaluation and scale-up. It provides evidence and background materialRead more…
Community case management in Nicaragua: lessons in fostering adoption and expanding implementation (2010)
This article looks at the policy landscape and processes that led to the implementation of a community case management (CCM) for child survival program in Nicaragua. The authors review both the contextual factors that facilitated CCM as well as the challenges, and conclude that continuous monitoring is essential for bothRead more…
Iranian health houses open the door to primary care (2008)
This article reviews Iran’s “Health Houses,” which were conceived and introduced during the country’s 1980-1988 war with Iraq. The health houses are run by trained CHWs, called behvarzan, who provide basic health care to most of the country’s rural population. Female behvarz are typically responsible for child and maternal health,Read more…
Six Guiding Principles of Streamlining Community-based Programs ()
This report summarizes six guiding principles and lessons learned that emerged from the work of an MOH/BASICS team developing a community-based IMCI program in Madagascar. The principles elaborated for streamlining community-based programs are: 1. Action-based messages; 2. Easy-to-use front-line teaching tools; 3. Short skill-based trainings; 4. Engaging large numbers ofRead more…
Shifting tasks to save lives: the example of AMREF-trained clinical officers in Southern Sudan (2013)
This brief report outlines AMREF’s experiences promoting task-shifting among health workers through integrating it into training of clinical officers in southern Sudan. After summarizing the challenges addressed, the policies introduced and the outcomes of the project, AMREF concludes that providing technical support and supportive supervision to the Government of SouthernRead more…
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