CHWs in rural primary care settings can contribute to reducing the burden of noncommunicable diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). They are especially valuable in countries like India, where COPD is the second leading cause of disease and is responsible for the deaths of as many as one million residents annually. Gupta and colleagues assessed the … [Read more...] about Effectiveness of a community health worker (CHW) training in monitoring and care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in rural Gujarat, India
Asia
Unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications: cross-sectional analysis of data from rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Indian women represent one in every seven of the 85 million women who experience unintended pregnancy each year. This high concentration is likely due to limited engagement with the local health system and puts women at risk of maternal health complications like pre-eclampsia, postpartum hemorrhage, and postpartum pre-eclampsia. Nabamllika Dehingia and colleagues assessed … [Read more...] about Unintended pregnancy and maternal health complications: cross-sectional analysis of data from rural Uttar Pradesh, India
Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion
This commentary responds to an article by Sunu Thomas (2020) describing concerns about the role of confidentiality when a research participant discloses sensitive personal information while a CHW is present. The author describes concerns about whether CHWs should bridge the gap between communities and researchers and whether their presence during data collection represents a … [Read more...] about Community gatekeepers and the conundrum of confidentiality and coercion
Effectiveness of a scalable group-based education and monitoring program, delivered by health workers, to improve control of hypertension in rural India: A cluster randomised controlled trial.
Low- and middle-income countries experience high cases of preventable diseases like hypertension, in part due to a limited supply of trained physicians. Dilan Gamage and his colleagues examined whether CHWs could help improve hypertension management in rural India. CHW training in hypertension management enabled an additional 20% of participants to obtain blood pressure … [Read more...] about Effectiveness of a scalable group-based education and monitoring program, delivered by health workers, to improve control of hypertension in rural India: A cluster randomised controlled trial.
Rapid literature review: Community health workers
CHWs performed as key actors during the Ebola, Zika, and Marburg outbreaks. Shuchi Srinivasan and Radhika Arora surveyed research examining barriers and facilitators to CHW-based responses to these outbreaks. Some barriers included gaps in knowledge and skills, failure to address PPE-related needs among CHWs, and the mental health impacts of living through a pandemic. … [Read more...] about Rapid literature review: Community health workers
