Community Health Workers/Volunteers

Care Groups I: An Innovative Community-Based Strategy for Improving Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health in Resource-Constrained Settings

In view of the slow progress being made in reducing maternal and child mortality in many priority countries, new approaches are urgently needed that can be applied in settings with weak health systems and a scarcity of human resources for health. The Care Group approach uses facilitators, who are a lower-level cadre of paid workers, to work with groups of 12 or so volunteers … [Read more...] about Care Groups I: An Innovative Community-Based Strategy for Improving Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health in Resource-Constrained Settings

A range of formal and informal close-to-community (CTC) health service providers operate in an increasingly urbanized Bangladesh. Informal CTC health service providers play a key role in Bangladesh’s pluralistic health system, yet the reasons for their popularity and their interactions with formal providers and the community are poorly understood. This paper aims to understand … [Read more...] about Exploring the context in which different close-to-community sexual and reproductive health service providers operate in Bangladesh: a qualitative study

Like any other health worker, community health workers (CHWs) need to be supported to ensure that they are able to contribute effectively to health programmes. Management challenges, similar to those of managing any other health worker, relate to improving attraction, retention and performance. Exploratory case studies of CHW programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, … [Read more...] about Using a human resource management approach to support community health workers: experiences from five African countries

There is robust evidence that community health workers (CHWs) in low- and middle-income (LMIC) countries can improve their clients’ health and well-being. The evidence on proven strategies to enhance and sustain CHW performance at scale, however, is limited. Nevertheless, CHW stakeholders need guidance and new ideas, which can emerge from the recognition that CHWs function at … [Read more...] about Strategic partnering to improve community health worker programming and performance: features of a community-health system integrated approach

Mozambique launched its revitalized community health programme in 2010 in response to inequitable coverage and quality of health services. The programme is focused on health promotion and disease prevention, with 20% of community health workers’ (known in Mozambique as Agentes Polivalentes Elementares (APEs)) time spent on curative services and 80% on activities promoting … [Read more...] about Exploring competing experiences and expectations of the revitalized community health worker programme in Mozambique: an equity analysis