Neonatal deaths remain a major concern in South Africa, with nearly half linked to prematurity. The Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) program supports very low birth weight (VLBW) babies through community health worker visits. This study examined VLBW infants discharged from a regional hospital, their follow-up care, health outcomes, and caregiver experiences. Among 169 … [Read more...] about Community-based follow-up of very low birth weight neonates discharged from a regional hospital in Cape Town: a descriptive study
Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a human-centered design-derived intervention to improve community health workers’ contraception outreach in rural Malawi
Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) in Malawi play a key role in expanding contraceptive access in rural areas. The Ndingathe intervention was designed to improve outreach by addressing HSA workflow challenges and enhancing self-injection counseling through a mnemonic and peer support from experienced users. During a six-month pilot, Ndingathe increased outreach clinic … [Read more...] about Feasibility, acceptability, and potential effectiveness of a human-centered design-derived intervention to improve community health workers’ contraception outreach in rural Malawi
Assessing the value-added contributions of community health workers and communities to early child development: a longitudinal study in a low-income setting
Early child development programs delivered by community health workers (CHWs) in low-resource settings can be effective, but scaling them presents challenges. This study analyzed data from a home-visiting trial in rural Madagascar to assess the impact of CHWs and communities on child development. Results showed that CHWs and community factors influenced children's developmental … [Read more...] about Assessing the value-added contributions of community health workers and communities to early child development: a longitudinal study in a low-income setting
Development of a curriculum to educate religious leaders about blood pressure using community-based participatory research and educational theory in Mwanza, Tanzania
Hypertension is a major health concern in Tanzania, but low trust in medical care and a focus on spiritual well-being often prevent people from seeking treatment. Religious leaders, who are highly respected in their communities, can help bridge this gap. To support this, health researchers and religious leaders co-developed a curriculum to train religious leaders to educate and … [Read more...] about Development of a curriculum to educate religious leaders about blood pressure using community-based participatory research and educational theory in Mwanza, Tanzania
Advancing malaria reactive case detection in a Zambia-like setting: A modeling study
In Zambia, identifying hidden malaria cases is crucial for elimination, but reactive case detection (RCD) faces challenges like limited community health workers (CHWs) and rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs). A mathematical model assessed ways to improve RCD effectiveness, showing that shortages of CHWs and RDTs significantly increase malaria cases. Adding focal mass drug … [Read more...] about Advancing malaria reactive case detection in a Zambia-like setting: A modeling study
