Journal articles

A Self-Management Training Intervention: Perceptions and Practices of Community Health Workers in South Africa

Community health workers (CHWs) are being used increasingly world over as a strategy to improve access to healthcare, particularly in rural communities. However, interventions targeted as improving their skill set and bringing about health behavior change are essential. This article presents findings from systematic, in-depth interviews conducted with CHWs in South Africa to … [Read more...] about A Self-Management Training Intervention: Perceptions and Practices of Community Health Workers in South Africa

Community engagement is considered to be a valuable strategy to improving health systems. However, there is limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of this approach. This study focused on operations research of a community-based health information system (PCBHIS). The development and implementation of the PCBHIS was assessed in slum communities. … [Read more...] about Piloting a participatory, community-based health information system for strengthening community-based health services: findings of a cluster-randomized controlled trial in the slums of Freetown, Sierra Leone

In countries with a heavy burden of HIV, the demand for healthcare services is often met with a dearth of health workers. This has led to a need for task shifting of lay health workers (LHWs) to improve healthcare delivery. This approach has been particularly successful in the case of maternal and childcare (MCH). This review examines the impact of LHWs in improving health … [Read more...] about Impact of lay health worker programmes on the health outcomes of mother-child pairs of HIV exposed children in Africa: A scoping review

Community health workers (CHWs) play a key role in addressing social determinants of health especially among low-income, ethnic minority groups. This study comprises a secondary analysis of a randomized control trail which examined how CHWs support ambulatory healthcare among Hispanic and African American patients with uncontrolled type-2 diabetes. … [Read more...] about Do community health workers affect non-urgent, ambulatory healthcare utilization among low-income, minority patients with diabetes?

This study assessed the feasibility and acceptability of two approaches of community health worker (CHW)-delivered mental health counselling for patients with chronic diseases. The ‘designated’ approach involved CHWs providing counselling in addition to their regular duties while the ‘dedicated’ approach involved the CHWs taking sole responsibility of delivering mental health … [Read more...] about Community health worker-delivered counselling for common mental disorders among chronic disease patients in South Africa: a feasibility study