Interest and investment in Community Health Workers varies depending on the state of the research on the effectiveness of each program. In this commentary, Stephen Hodgins describes how sustained interest can be achieved by increasing cross-communication between small demonstration projects and large programs. … [Read more...] about Learning from Community Health Worker programs, big and small
Asia
Community level interventions for pre-eclampsia (CLIP) in India: 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. Mrutunjaya Bellad 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 … [Read more...] about Community level interventions for pre-eclampsia (CLIP) in India: A cluster randomised controlled trial
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of a Community Health Worker–Driven Approach to Screen Hard-to-Reach Periurban Women Using Self-Sampled HPV Detection Test in India
Cervical cancer screening is a highly effective preventative measure; one research study resulted in an approximately 50% reduction in new onset of cervical cancer and related mortality following a single HPV screening session. Self-tests for cervical cancer represent an opportunity to extend these services and their benefits to hard-to-reach populations. Poli and colleagues … [Read more...] about Feasibility, Acceptability, and Efficacy of a Community Health Worker–Driven Approach to Screen Hard-to-Reach Periurban Women Using Self-Sampled HPV Detection Test in India
Community engagement interventions for communicable disease control in low- and lower- middle-income countries: evidence from a review of systematic reviews
A diverse array of approaches exist to encourage community engagement to achieve communicable disease control. K. Questa and colleagues collected 13 systematic reviews of research examining community engagement-related communicable disease control to understand which approaches to engagement exist and what is known about their effectiveness. Approaches included community … [Read more...] about Community engagement interventions for communicable disease control in low- and lower- middle-income countries: evidence from a review of systematic reviews
Prediagnostic loss to follow-up in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: a mixed-methods study from rural Bihar, India
The World Health Organization’s End TB strategy seeks to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis by at least 80% by the year 2030, but underreporting and underdiagnosis prevents an accurate assessment of progression toward this goal. Tushar Garg and colleagues assessed whether CHWs could be an effective means for identifying and referring presumptive TB cases to receive treatment. … [Read more...] about Prediagnostic loss to follow-up in an active case finding tuberculosis programme: a mixed-methods study from rural Bihar, India
