Authors: Angel Dillip, Suleiman Kimatta, Martha Embrey, John C Chalker, Richard Valimba, Mariam Malliwah, John Meena, Rachel Lieber and Keith Johnson
An intervention brought together community health workers, health facility staff, and accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) dispensers to improve maternal and newborn health through a mechanism of collaboration and referral. This study explored barriers, successes, and promising approaches to increasing timely access to care by linking the three levels of health care provision. The study was conducted in Kibaha district, Tanzania, composed of in-depth interviews and focus groups with participants. The study concluded there are benefits to linking levels of care such as improved knowledge of case management, more timely access to care, increased number of patients/customers, more meetings between CHWs and health facility staff, and a decrease in child and maternal mortality. Research suggested challenges to be addressed are stock-outs of medicines at the health facility, participating ADDO dispensers who left to work in other regions, documentation of referrals, and lack of treatment available at health facilities on the weekend. The most prominent challenge identified is the need for supervision visits to evaluate the program.
Link: Can formalizing links among community health workers, accredited drug dispensing outlet dispensers, and health facility staff in
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Resource Topic: Community Assessment, Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Supervision
Resource Type: Case studies, Research
Year: 2017
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Country: Tanzania
Publisher May Restrict Access: No