Demands for personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic strained global supply chains, often leaving low- and middle-income countries without a means to protect their health workers. CHWs are no exception. This article provides an overview of PPE required to protect CHWs during a pandemic and makes recommendations for improving supply chain access. … [Read more...] about Protecting community health workers: PPE needs and recommendations for policy action
Community Health Workers/Volunteers
Community Health Workers as Influential Health System Actors and not “Just Another Pair Of Hands”
CHWs across the world have mixed status, with some feeling appreciated as important contributors to their community and others feeling used and undervalued by more advanced health professionals. Sumit Kane and his colleagues surveyed CHWs in India to better understand their lived experiences. Many CHWs described initially feeling as if they were a powerless tool, but these … [Read more...] about Community Health Workers as Influential Health System Actors and not “Just Another Pair Of Hands”
Community Health Worker employer survey: Perspectives on CHW workforce development in the midwest
US states increasingly seek to enact CHW workforce development programs to provide frontline support for community health, but limited guidelines offer consensus about how to develop and implement these programs. Virginia Chaidez, Angela Palmer-Wackerly, and Kate Trout surveyed CHW employers in Nebraska to inform Nebraskan CHW workforce development. Based on their results, the … [Read more...] about Community Health Worker employer survey: Perspectives on CHW workforce development in the midwest
When financial incentives backfire: A community health worker experiment in Uganda
CHWs sometimes charge for health products like those used to treat child diarrhea, but limited research has examined whether or not a fee-for-service model improves CHW performance. Zachary Wagner and his team compared the performance of Uganda-based CHWs who charged for their services against those who did not. Those who charged for their services conducted fewer household … [Read more...] about When financial incentives backfire: A community health worker experiment in Uganda
How do decision-makers use evidence in community health policy and financing decisions? A qualitative study and conceptual framework in four African countries.
Decisions about whether and how to finance and support close-to-community community health programming are best driven by evidence about what “works,” but a recent study by Meghan Bruce Kumar and her team suggests that the evidence base is limited. The researchers took a look at financing decisions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawai, and Mozambique to model their decision making … [Read more...] about How do decision-makers use evidence in community health policy and financing decisions? A qualitative study and conceptual framework in four African countries.
