Involving community health workers in disease-specific interventions: perspectives from The Gambia on the impact of this approach (original) (raw)
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BMC Health Services Research
Background Although many success stories exist of Village Health Workers (VHWs) improving primary health care, critiques remain about the medicalisation of their roles in disease-specific interventions. VHWs are placed at the bottom of the health system hierarchy as cheap and low-skilled volunteers, irrespective of their highly valued social and political status within communities. In this paper, we shed light on the political role VHWs play and investigate how this shapes their social and medical roles, including their influence on community participation. Method The study was carried out within the context of a malaria elimination trial implemented in rural villages in the North Bank of The Gambia between 2016 and 2018. The trial aimed to reduce malaria prevalence by treating malaria index cases and their potentially asymptomatic compound members, in which VHWs took an active role advocating their community and the intervention, mobilising the population, and distributing antimala...
Social Science & Medicine, 2015
Abstract The use of community health workers to administer prompt treatments is gaining popularity in most sub-Saharan African countries. Their performance is a key challenge because it varies considerably, depending on the context, while being closely associated with the effectiveness of case management strategies. What determines community health workers' performance is still under debate. Based on a realist perspective, a systematic review recently hypothesized that several mechanisms are associated with good performance and successful community interventions. In order to empirically investigate this hypothesis and confront it with the reality, we conducted a study in Burkina Faso, where in 2010 health authorities have implemented a national program introducing community case management of malaria. The objective was to assess the presence of the mechanisms in community health workers, and explore the influence of contextual factors. In 2012, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 35 community health workers from a study area established in two similar health districts (Kaya and Zorgho). Results suggest that they perceive most of the mechanisms, except the sense of being valued by the health system and accountability to village members. Analysis shows that drug stock-outs and past experiences of community health workers simultaneously influence the presence of several mechanisms. The lack of integration between governmental and non-governmental interventions and the overall socio-economic deprivation, were also identified as influencing the mechanisms' presence. By focusing on community health workers' agency, this study puts the influence of the context back at the core of the performance debate and raises the question of their ability to perform well in scaled-up anti-malaria programs.
Community Health Workers: Key Drivers in Malaria Community Case Management in Zambia
Texila International Journal of Public Health, 2024
For over a decade, the Zambia Ministry of Health has been implementing programs aimed at reducing malaria prevalence in the Nchelenge district of Luapula Province. High-impact malaria control interventions implemented include indoor residual spraying, long-lasting insecticide net distribution and community case management. Despite this, malaria prevalence remains high. Community health workers (CHWs) are the drivers of community case management (CCM), a strategy promoting early recognition, prompt diagnosis, and treatment of preventable illnesses such as malaria. This systematic desk review aimed to assess the impact of community health workers on Malaria CCM and prevention in the Nchelenge district. Thirty-four (34) studies were reviewed which reported indicators of CHW performance and their roles in community health. The study concluded that CHWs had important preventive, case management and promotive roles in malaria interventions. The review revealed that CHWs can provide good quality malaria care, including performing procedures such as rapid diagnostic tests. The factors perceived to influence CHWs' performance were community support, training, availability of drugs and supplies, incentives, and recognition from formal health workers. Though CHWs are recognized, they are not fully integrated into the health system. To enable their effective integration, the following should be considered: introduce sustainable financing of CCM programs; tailor CHW training to address gaps; and improve sustainable supply chain management of malaria drugs and diagnostics. By expanding CHWs, the number of malaria diagnosis and treatment service points per population is expected to decrease treatment-seeking delays and the percentage of people who progress from mild to severe malaria.
PLOS ONE
Background Mass test, treat and track (MTTT) of malaria is ongoing in the Pakro sub district of Ghana. In the delivery of MTTT of malaria, community health volunteers are trained to routinely provide this service through a door-to-door strategy. Following the report of the first cases of COVID-19 in Ghana, we conducted this study to explore the effects of the pandemic on the implementation of the MTTT of malaria intervention. Methods Using qualitative methodology, we conducted ten focus groups discussions (FGDs) in eight communities: eight with community members (N = 49); one with health workers (N = 6), and one with MTTT of malaria volunteers. In addition, two in-depth interviews (IDI) were conducted, one with health worker and another with a health manager. All interviews were recorded, translated into English during transcription and analysed using QSR NVivo 12. Thematic content analysis was used in this study. Results The findings of the study showed an increase in the number of...
Globalization and Health
Background Community health workers (CHWs) are an important cadre of the global health workforce as they are involved in providing health services at the community level. However, evidence on the role of CHWs in delivering interventions for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Uganda is limited. This study, therefore, assessed the involvement of CHWs in the prevention and control of NCDs in Wakiso District, Uganda with a focus on their knowledge, attitudes and practices, as well as community perceptions. Methods A cross-sectional study using mixed methods was conducted which involved a structured questionnaire among 485 CHWs, and 6 focus group discussions (FGDs) among community members. The study assessed knowledge, perceptions including the importance of the various risk factors, and the current involvement of CHWs in NCDs, including the challenges they faced. Quantitative data were analysed in STATA version 13.0 while thematic analysis was used for the qualitative data. Results The...
2012
Background. In line with increased advocacy for implementation of malaria interventions at community level, universal net coverage has become a prominent intervention in Lilongwe, Malawi. However, beliefs and perceptions about malaria interventions have greatly affected the implementation of interventions at community level. This study explored the perception of community health workers in Lilongwe on barriers to effective malaria control service delivery and utilisation at the community level. Methods. Data on perceived beliefs and misconception about malaria interventions were collected through qualitative interviews. Qualitative data were analysed using the Framework Analysis approach. Results. The study identified a number of factors that health workers cited as barriers and challenges to effective implementation of malaria interventions in Lilongwe. These related to health workers' assimilation of community's beliefs and traditions; beliefs about causes of malaria contrary to known biomedical causes of malaria; beliefs about traditional methods of malaria prevention and treatment; beliefs about insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) as a cause of infertility among married couples; beliefs about alternative uses of ITNs; and lack of understanding about selective susceptibility to malaria infections. Conclusion. This study demonstrated, in part, that beliefs and perceptions about malaria intervention evolved through ecological correlations and requires education that fully explains how such correlations arose other than simple disproof as myths. A participatory approach in designing and delivering malaria interventions at community level complemented with the inclusion of traditional interventions results in better collaboration and is more likely to be accepted by members of the community as it provides cultural synthesis.
Malaria J, 2015
Background Malaria is holo-endemic in Burkina Faso and causes approximately 40,000 deaths every year. In 2010, health authorities scaled up community case management of malaria with artemisinin-based combination therapy. Previous trials and pilot project evaluations have shown that this strategy may be feasible, acceptable, and effective under controlled implementation conditions. However, little is known about its effectiveness or feasibility/acceptability under real-world conditions of implementation at national scale. Methods A panel study was conducted in two health districts of Burkina Faso, Kaya and Zorgho. Three rounds of surveys were conducted during the peak malaria-transmission season (in August 2011, 2012 and 2013) in a panel of 2,232 randomly selected households. All sickness episodes in children under five and associated health-seeking practices were documented. Community health worker (CHW) treatment coverage was evaluated and the determinants of consulting a CHW were analysed using multi-level logistic regression. Results In urban areas, less than 1% of sick children consulted a CHW, compared to 1%–9% in rural areas. Gaps remained between intentions and actual practices in treatment-seeking behaviour. In 2013, the most frequent reasons for not consulting the CHW were: the fact of not knowing him/her (78% in urban areas; 33% in rural areas); preferring the health centre (23% and 45%, respectively); and drug stock-outs (2% and 12%, respectively). The odds of visiting a CHW in rural areas significantly increased with the distance to the nearest health centre and if the household had been visited by a CHW during the previous three months. Conclusions This study shows that CHWs are rarely used in Burkina Faso to treat malaria in children. Issues of implementation fidelity, a lack of adaptation to the local context and problems of acceptability/feasibility might have undermined the effectiveness of community case management of malaria. While some suggest extending this strategy in urban areas, total absence of CHW services uptake in these areas suggest that caution is required. Even in rural areas, treatment coverage by CHWs was considerably less than that reported by previous trials and pilot projects. This study confirms the necessity of evaluating public health interventions under real-world conditions of implementation.
Malaria journal, 2017
Human resource for health crisis has impaired global efforts against malaria in highly endemic countries. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended scaling-up of community health workers (CHWs) and related cadres owing to their documented success in malaria and other disease prevention and management. Evidence is inconsistent on the roles and challenges they encounter in malaria interventions. This systematic review aims to summarize evidence on roles and challenges of CHWs and related cadres in integrated community case management for malaria (iCCM). This systematic review retrieved evidence from PubMed, CINAHL, ISI Web of Knowledge, and WHO regional databases. Terms extracted from the Boolean phrase used for PubMed were also used in other databases. The review included studies with Randomized Control Trial, Quasi-experimental, Pre-post interventional, Longitudinal and cohort, Cross-sectional, Case study, and Secondary data analysis. Because of heterogeneity,...
Malaria Journal
Background Malaria continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Africa. Community Case Management of malaria (CCMm) which is undertaken by engaging Community Health Workers (CHWs) to effectively address management of malaria cases in some endemic communities was explored in this study. The aim was to assess the needs of CHWs that would help sustain and retain their services to enhance the efficient delivery of CCMm. Methods Using semi-structured questionnaires, data on the needs of CHWs was gathered through a qualitative study consisting of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) conducted among study participants in five districts in western Kenya. The study participants comprised of 100 CHWs, 100 mothers of children under five years and 25 key informants made up of public health officers and clinicians involved in the CCMm. The interviews were conducted in English and Swahili or Dholuo, the local language. The recorded audio interviews were transc...
Frontiers in Public Health, 2021
Introduction: Community health workers (CHWs) play an integral role in Sierra Leone's health systems strengthening efforts. Our goal was to understand CHWs' experiences of providing immunization and malaria prevention services in urban settings and explore opportunities to optimize their contributions to these services.Methods: In 2018, we conducted an exploratory qualitative assessment in the Western Area Urban district, which covers most of the capital city of Freetown. We purposively selected diverse health facilities (i.e., type, ownership, setting) and recruited CHWs through their supervisors. We conducted eight focus group discussions (FGD) with CHWs, which were audio-recorded. The topics explored included participants' background, responsibilities and priorities of urban CHWs, sources of motivation at work, barriers to CHWs' immunization and malaria prevention activities, and strategies used to address these barriers. The local research team transcribed and tr...