Results: 3217
Modelling cost benefit of community-oriented primary care in rural South Africa (2020)
Research demonstrates the effectiveness of CHWs and community-based health programs to expand universal health care to low-income, rural populations. Rod Bennett and his colleagues assessed the cost and feasibility of implementing a CHW program in the Waterberg district of Limpopo province in South Africa, a region that has not yetRead more…
Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion (2020)
This commentary responds to an article by Sunu Thomas (2020) describing concerns about the role of confidentiality when a research participant discloses sensitive personal information while a CHW is present. The author describes concerns about whether CHWs should bridge the gap between communities and researchers and whether their presence duringRead more…
Supporting holistic care for patients with tuberculosis in a remote Indigenous community: a case report. (2020)
Tuberculosis in Australia has been eradicated in nearly all communities, with the exception of rare cases in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander communities. The rarity of this disease presents a challenge to the care of those with positive diagnoses, as local workers may be inexperienced and underprepared to addressRead more…
Qualitative evaluation of a community health representative program on patient experiences in Navajo Nation. (2020)
Members of the Navajo Nation receive home care, health education, and community health promotion from Community Health Representatives (CHRs). CHRs undergo specialized training under the COPE Intervention provided by Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment (COPE) to learn Motivational Interviewing and other culturally appropriate strategies to connect with local community members.Read more…
Effectiveness of a scalable group-based education and monitoring program, delivered by health workers, to improve control of hypertension in rural India: A cluster randomised controlled trial. (2020)
Low- and middle-income countries experience high cases of preventable diseases like hypertension, in part due to a limited supply of trained physicians. Dilan Gamage and his colleagues examined whether CHWs could help improve hypertension management in rural India. CHW training in hypertension management enabled an additional 20% of participants toRead more…
Rapid literature review: Community health workers (2020)
CHWs performed as key actors during the Ebola, Zika, and Marburg outbreaks. Shuchi Srinivasan and Radhika Arora surveyed research examining barriers and facilitators to CHW-based responses to these outbreaks. Some barriers included gaps in knowledge and skills, failure to address PPE-related needs among CHWs, and the mental health impacts ofRead more…
Measuring motivation among close-to-community health workers: developing the CTC Provider Motivational Indicator Scale across six countries (2020)
Close-to-community health service (CTC) providers serve as critical support in low- and middle-income countries with limited access to formalized health care providers. However, motivational challenges cause CTC providers to suffer high rates of turnover. Frederique Vallieres conducted interviews and discussions with CTC providers across six countries to develop a surveyRead more…
Learning from community health worker programs, big and small (2020)
CHW programs demonstrate the potential for great impacts on population health, but interventions sometimes fail as a result of poor transitioning from program piloting to full scale implementation. Stephen Hodgins outlines some of the reasons these programs fail or succeed. He recommends expansions of research conducted both during intervention pilotingRead more…
COVID-19 crisis creates opportunities for community-centered population health: Community health workers at the center (2020)
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the fragility of the US healthcare system and the impacts of underinvestment in public health. Hobert Goldfield and colleagues outlined several state responses to the virus and the importance of CHWs in reducing its spread. The researchers called for governments to recruit greater CHW engagement inRead more…
COVID-19: Africa needs unprecedented attention to strengthen community health systems (2020)
The health workforce in general and CHWs in particular played an instrumental role in curbing the effects of the 2014-2016 Ebola virus outbreak. Lyudmila Neponmnyashchiy and her colleagues provide a brief comparison between the Ebola virus outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, underscoring the need for sub-Saharan African governments to investRead more…
Community health workers reveal COVID-19 disaster in Brazil (2020)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian CHWs have received limited access to infection control training and personal protective equipment due to a lack of recognition as health professionals by the government. Gabriela Lotta and her colleagues describe the impacts of these decisions on CHW health and wellbeing.
Which intervention design factors influence performance of community health workers in low- and middle-income countries? A systematic review (2015)
National health systems increasingly rely on CHW programming to support population health. Maryse Kok surveyed 140 research studies to uncover CHW program designs that contribute to high CHW performance. Results indicated a broad array of contributing factors, including incentives, frequency of supervision, and high community involvement.
Community health workers in Hawai’i: A scoping review and framework analysis of existing evidence (2019)
David A Stupplebeen and his colleagues surveyed the literature to understand the scope of CHW’s role and responsibilities in Hawai’i. Responsibilities and roles generally reflected those outlined in the CDC’s ten essential public health services framework and community health worker core consensus project roles. The researchers called for a broaderRead more…
Community health workers in action: Community-clinical linkages for diabetes prevention and hypertension management at 3 community health centers (2020)
A 2014 Center for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreement enabled the Hawai’i Department of Health to partner with federally qualified health centers (FWHCs) to target local-level health systems interventions. One intervention used CHWs to target diabetes prevention and hypertension control. David Stupplebeen and his colleagues examined the facilitators andRead more…
Roles and functions of community health workers in primary care (2018)
CHWs in primary care include those with limited formal medical education who provide primary care services and patient support. Andrea Hartzler and her colleagues surveyed thirty research studies to understand the core functions and roles of CHWs in primary care. Functions of CHWs clustered across three types of roles: ClinicalRead more…
Protecting community health workers: PPE needs and recommendations for policy action (2020)
Demands for personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic strained global supply chains, often leaving low- and middle-income countries without a means to protect their health workers. CHWs are no exception. This article provides an overview of PPE required to protect CHWs during a pandemic and makes recommendations for improvingRead more…
Online versus in-person training of community health workers to enhance hepatitis B virus screening among Korean Americans: Evaluating cost & outcomes (2020)
Korean Americans experience chronic hepatitis B Virus (HBV) at alarming rates, attributable in part to a lack of awareness, screening, and vaccination against HBV. CHWs serve an important role in screening and vaccinating Korean Americans for HBV and HBV-related problems, but limited research has evaluated the cost of training theseRead more…
Costing analysis of a pilot community health worker program in rural nepal (2020)
A leader in community health care, Nepal seeks to expand their system to achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals. In 2017, the country piloted a program designed to align their programs with the World Health Organization 2018 guidelines for CHWs. Prajwol Nepal and colleagues evaluated the operatingRead more…
Effectiveness of community health workers in improving early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding rates in a low‐resource setting: A cluster‐randomized longitudinal study (2020)
Early breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life are linked to improved neonatal health and development. Dorothy Mituki-Mungiria and her colleagues explored how effective CHWs are in teaching mothers to breastfeed in the first hour after birth and continuing exclusive breastfeeding for 24 weeks postpartum.Read more…
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