Results: 3069
Lay health workers in primary and community health care: A systematic review of trials (2006)
This review examines randomized control trials that tested the effectiveness of lay health worker (LHW) interventions on improving Maternal and Child Health (MCH) and addressing key high-burden diseases in low and middle income countries. The authors found that the use of LHWs in health programs showed benefits when compared withRead more…
Community health workers as a cornerstone for integrating HIV and primary healthcare (2007)
This paper describes the contribution of the non-governmental organization Zanmi Lasante (ZL) to scaling up HIV prevention and treatment and improving primary health care services in the public health system in Haiti. ZL’s model utilizes CHWs to supervise antiretroviral therapy and provide community outreach, including active case finding and outreachRead more…
Using Community Health Workers for Malaria Control: Experience in Zaire (1996)
This study examine the impact of using CHWs in the Katan Health Zone in Zaire to reduce malaria morbidity and mortality. CHWs were trained and supported to administer timely and effective treatment for presumptive malaria attacks. The authors conclude that the introduction of dedicated CHWs can lead to improved accessRead more…
Malawi: Distribution of DMPA at the Community Level- Lessons Learned (2009)
In 2008, Malawi piloted the distribution of the injectable contraceptive DMPA by Health Surveillance Assistants. This report presents lessons learned, during the initial training and implementation roll-out, which will be valuable for other countries planning similar community-based distribution systems. The report pays particular attention to the supply chain implications ofRead more…
Taking Critical Services to the Home: Scaling-up Home-based Maternal and Postnatal Care, including Family Planning, through Community Midwifery in Kenya (2008)
In Kenya, with USAID support, the Population Council’s FRONTIERS in Reproductive Health project supported the scale up of a model that enabled women to give birth at home or to be referred to a hospital when attended by a self-employed skilled midwife living in the community. This report describes theRead more…
Task Shifting: rational redistribution of tasks among health workforce teams: global recommendations and guidelines (2008)
WHO puts forward a set of 22 recommendations to provide guidance to countries considering adopting or extending a task-shifting approach. These recommendations were developed through a one-year process of country consultation, extensive data-gathering, and broad consultation among a wide range of experts and stakeholders.
An Evidence-Based Policy Brief- Task Shifting to optimise the roles of health workers to improve the delivery of maternal and child healthcare (2010)
This report summarizes the best available evidence regarding the design and implementation of “task shifting” policies extending the use of non-medically trained primary health care workers to deliver cost-effective maternal and child health interventions. The report’s purpose is to inform deliberations and decision-making among policymakers and stakeholders.
The Ghana Community-based Health Planning and Services Initiative for scaling up service delivery (2005)
This paper reviews the development of the Community-based Heath Planning and Services (CHPS) Initiative, describes the processes of implementation and relates the initiative to the principles of scaling up organizational change which it embraces. Over a 2-year period, 104 out of 110 districts in Ghana started CHPS, employing strategies testedRead more…
Accelerating reproductive and child health programme impact with community-based services: the Navrongo experiment in Ghana (2006)
This article compares the demographic and health impact of deploying health service nurses and volunteers in village locations. The authors found that assigning nurses to community locations to provide basic curative and preventive care substantially reduced childhood mortality and accelerates progress towards attainment of the child survival MDG. Approaches usingRead more…
Lessons from Community-based Distribution of Family Planning in Africa (1999)
This paper reviews several initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa to implement community-based distribution (CBD) of family planning services. Although research suggests that community-based service delivery can contribute to contraceptive use, the magnitude of impact is often in doubt. This report reviews reasons for the limited impact of CBD in Africa, comparedRead more…
Contraceptive Injections by Community Health Workers in Uganda (2013)
This study compared the safety and quality of contraceptive injections given by community-based health workers with those given by clinic-based nurses in a rural Nakasongola District, Uganda. A nonrandomized community trial compared provision of injectable Depo Provera (DMPA) by community reproductive health workers with routine DPMA provision at health units.Read more…
Community-based health workers achieve high coverage in neonatal intervention trials: a case study from Sylhet, Bangladesh (2010)
This paper describes a large-scale community-based efficacy trial of chlorhexidine for cleansing the umbilical cord conducted in rural north-eastern Bangladesh. The trial established a two-tiered system of community-based workers: paid community health workers (CHWs) and volunteer village health workers (VHWs). The community-based workers delivered a package of essential maternal andRead more…
Final Report: Safety and Feasibility of Community-Based Distribution of Depo Provera in Nakasongola, Uganda (2005)
The goal of this intervention was to improve access to contraceptive services in rural Nakasongola, Uganda, two hours north of the capital, by assessing the safety, quality and feasibility of DMPA provision by community reproductive health workers as compared with DMPA provided in clinics. The findings from this research reinforceRead more…
Comparing the Effectiveness and Costs of Alternative Strategies for Improving Access to Information and Services for the IUD in Ghana (2008)
This report describes a study conducted in Ghana to explore utilizing Community Health Officers (CHOs) and Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) to increase interest in using IUDs and other long-acting and permanent methods. The study utilized a pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design and included two intervention groups (where CHOs and CHVsRead more…
Implementing the HMC Resolution on Task Shifting- Focus on Injectables. Evidence Review and Development of Country Workplans (2010)
The East, Central and Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA-HC) in collaboration with Family Health International (FHI), held a regional workshop on expanding community-based access to family planning- focus on injectable contraception.
Increasing contraceptive use in rural Pakistan: an evaluation of the Lady Health Worker Programme (2005)
The Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme was initiated by the Pakistani Ministry of Health in the early 1990s to integrate family planning into doorstep provision of primary health care. This paper presents findings from the first national evaluation of the Programme. The data provides strong evidence that the Programme succeededRead more…
Health Workforce “Innovative Approaches and Promising Practices” Study: Providing Doorstep Services to Underserved Rural Populations: Community Health Officers in Ghana (2006)
Through its Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) initiative, Ghana has deployed over 300 auxiliary nurses in 53 of the country’s deprived districts. These nurses, who receive two years of training and the title Community Health Officer (CHO), are part of an innovative approach that shifts staff from low-impact staticRead more…
Brief 3: Effectiveness of Community-based Distribution of DMPA (2007)
This brief outlines how community based distribution (CBD) of injectable DMPA (Depo-Provera) can be effective. It posits key elements to ensure CBD success: workers must have consistent links to supplies, a system for follow up of clients to ensure they receive their injections every three months and training in howRead more…
Improving the Quality of Care (2010)
This tool describes a quality assurance process for ensuring that TB, HIV, and dual-infected clients are provided with quality of care. The approach relies on observation, use of scorable supervisory checklists to assess performance and instructions for addressing low-scoring tasks. Summary data informs improvement actions. Reports are submitted to theRead more…
Community home-based prevention of disability due to lyphatic filariasis (2003)
This tool provides CHWs with 5 key messages as well as visual aids to help treat and prevent lymphatic filariasis in the community.
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