Maternal and child health outcomes improve with the implementation of CHW home-visiting in urban areas, but less is known about their effects in rural South Africa. Karl le Roux and colleagues compared a rural area with CHW to one without CHWs to determine the effectiveness of CHW home-visits on maternal and child health. CHW home visits were associated with increased … [Read more...] about Community health workers impact on maternal and child health outcomes in rural South Africa – a non-randomized two-group comparison study
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Considerations for building sustainable community health worker programs to improve maternal health
Despite growing evidence of the efficacy of CHW programs to achieve universal health coverage, limited short-term program funding in the US constrains the sustainability of these programs. Renee Mehra and colleagues examined factors contributing to sustainability of CHW programs targeting maternal health. They identified three key themes influencing program sustainability: … [Read more...] about Considerations for building sustainable community health worker programs to improve maternal health
Can people-centered community-oriented interventions improve skilled birth attendance? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study in rural communities of Cambodia, Kenya, and Zambia
Skilled birth attendance provided by CHWs increases access to culturally relevant treatment support, home-based care, and antenatal care. One way to strengthen CHW systems and subsequent provision of care relies on community scorecards to improve health service utilization. Anbrasi Edward and colleagues evaluated the effects of combined use of community scorecards and CHW … [Read more...] about Can people-centered community-oriented interventions improve skilled birth attendance? Evidence from a quasi-experimental study in rural communities of Cambodia, Kenya, and Zambia
Community level interventions for pre-eclampsia (CLIP) in Pakistan: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Karnataka, India experiences exceptionally high rates of maternal, fetal, and infant deaths. Hypertension during pregnancy increases risk for both eclampsia and maternal death. Rahat Qureshi and colleagues assessed the effectiveness of a CHW-led community-based intervention designed to reduce pregnancy hypertension. Compared to a control group, the community-level intervention … [Read more...] about Community level interventions for pre-eclampsia (CLIP) in Pakistan: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Feasibility and acceptability of a video library tool to support community health worker counseling in rural Afghan districts: a cross-sectional assessment
Afghanistan experiences high maternal, infant, and child mortality compared to neighboring countries. Lack of access to facility-based health services and mass media health communications prevents timely access to preventative health information. Leila Dal Santo and colleagues provided CHWs with a tablet-based health video library (HVL) to assess the feasibility of the device … [Read more...] about Feasibility and acceptability of a video library tool to support community health worker counseling in rural Afghan districts: a cross-sectional assessment
