Authors: Emmanueil Benon Turinawe, Jude T. Rwemisisi, Laban K. Musinguzi, Marije de Groot, Denis Muhangi, Daniel H. de Vries, David K. Mafigiri and Robert Pool
Community health worker (CHW) programmes have received much attention since the 1978 Declaration of Alma-Ata, with many initiatives established in developing countries. However, CHW programmes often suffer high attrition once the initial enthusiasm of volunteers wanes. In 2002, Uganda began implementing a national CHW programme called the village health teams (VHTs), but their performance has been poor in many communities. It is argued that poor community involvement in the selection of the CHWs affects their embeddedness in communities and success. The question of how selection can be implemented creatively to sustain CHW programmes has not been sufficiently explored.
This paper examines the process of the introduction of the VHT strategy in one rural community, including the selection of VHT members and how these processes may have influenced their work in relation to the ideals of the natural helper model of health promotion.
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Resource Topic: Community Health Workers/Volunteers, Community Involvement, Country Ownership, Human Resources Management/Workforce Development, Sustainability
Resource Type: Research
Year: 2015
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Country: Uganda
Publisher May Restrict Access: No