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Welcome to CHW Central
Welcome to CHW Central, an online resource for information and dialogue about Community Health Workers (CHW). CHWs play an important role in increasing access to health services in poor and underserved communities around the world. CHW Central supports community health workers and strengthens CHW programs by connecting experts, practitioners, and supporters in interactive discussion forums and sharing the latest developments in CHW research, practice, and policy.
Region and Country: United States of America
Year:
2010 Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Recognition/remuneration, Recruitment, Reproductive Health, Task definition, Task shifting, Training
Language:
English This study presents the results of a randomized trial of a promotora-led education intervention focused on cervical caner in a local South Philadelphia Hispanic community. The findings suggest that CHWs can provide a novel and culturally-appropriate model for addressing racial and ethnic health disparities in underserved populations.
Region and Country: Kenya
Year:
2011 Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Documentation/data collection, Monitoring and evaluation, Motivation/incentives, Performance evaluation, Policy, Program design, Program evaluation
Language:
English This article investigates the validity and reliability of Community Based Information collected by CHWs in Kenya. The study concludes that CHWs collect sufficient household data that can be used to inform decisions on health intervnetions and to scale-up and develop new programs.
Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Community involvement, Country ownership, Motivation/incentives, Performance evaluation, Performance management, Program evaluation, Recruitment, Supervision, Training
Year:
2010
Language:
English This study reviews research on CHW programs and concludes there is an inconsistent reporting of selection and training processes for CHWs in the existing literature. It presents a conceptual model for the role development of CHWs to guide future reporting of CHW programs in the intervention literature.
Fulltext URL:
Role Development of Community Health Workers Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Community involvement, Employee Engagement, HIV/AIDS, Motivation/incentives
Language:
English This document describes the Isibindi Model which uses community-based child and youth care workers in communities in an innovative team outreach program to support children and families affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The aim is to enable children and youth to acquire skills that will increase their competency in their living environment and facilitate emotional support to children and youth.
Fulltext URL:
Isibindi Model of Care for Vulnerable Children and Youth Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, HIV/AIDS, Infectious diseases, Malaria, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Patient Safety, Prevention, Program design, Reproductive Health, Water and Sanitation
Year:
2010
Language:
English Facts for Life provides essential information on how to prevent child and maternal deaths, diseases, injuries and violence. Written in simple language, the messages are based on the latest scientific findings by medical and child development experts around the world. The contents can promote dialogue, learning, communication and action among children, youth, families, communities, and social networks.
Fulltext URL:
Facts for Life Link:
Region and Country: South Africa
Year:
2010 Topics: CHW role, Community and home-based care for PLWHA, Community health workers, Documentation/data collection, HIV/AIDS, Monitoring and evaluation, Program management, Social support for PLWHA, Training
Language:
English This report reviews World Vision's training and support for peer educators in a school-based peer-led HIV prevention programme in three provinces of South Africa. The methodology is based on the Centre for the Support of Peer Education (CSPE) philosophy which encourages the use of peer educators to reach beneficiaries. Lessons learned are presented.
Fulltext URL:
World Vision: Peer Education Training Summary Report Region and Country: Ethiopia
Year:
2011 Topics: Community and home-based care for PLWHA, Community health workers, Country ownership, HIV counseling and testing, HIV prevention/positive prevention, HIV/AIDS, Monitoring and evaluation, Performance management, Program management, Retention of health workers/reducing attrition, Social support for PLWHA, Training
Language:
English A multidisciplinary care team can be defined as a partnership among health care workers of different disciplines inside and outside the health sector and the community with the goal of providing quality continuous, comprehensive and efficient health services. This report explores the potential of introducing multidisciplinary care teams into sub-Saharan health care settings in an effort to scale up access to antiretroviral therapy and to achieve efficiencies in the use of existing financial and human resources for health.
Region and Country: India
Year:
2012 Topics: Community health workers, Monitoring and evaluation, Performance evaluation, Performance management, Program design, Program evaluation, Program management, Supervision
Language:
English This cluster randomized controlled trial assesses the effectiveness of the Integrated Management of Neonatal Childhood Illness (IMNCI) strategy in Haryana, India. The IMNCI model utilizes CHWs in the treatment of sick newborns and children and also incorporates home visits for early newborn care. The study concludes that the implementation of the IMNCI resulted in substantial improvement in infant survival and in neonatal survival in those born at home. The authors conclude the IMNCI should be a part of India's strategy to achieve the MDG on child survival.
Partners:
USAID, FAM Project Topics: Community health workers, Family planning, FP-MCH integration, Program design, Program management, Reproductive Health, Training
Year:
2011
Language:
English Religious leaders and individual congregations are often important gatekeepers in disseminating reproductive health messages and influencing positive behavior change in communities. This report reflects the interest among many diverse actors within the Christian and Muslim communities to expand access to family planning information and services as well as the interest of secular health organizations in partnering with faith groups to multiply each other's reach and influence.
Partners:
University of New South Wales, Burnet Institute Region and Country: Asia
Year:
2010 Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Community involvement, Program design, Program evaluation, Program management, Recruitment, Supervision, Training
Language:
English This literature review provides examples of lessons learned in the planning, implementation and evaluation of HRH interventions in maternal, neonatal and reproductive health (MNRH) at the community level in the Asia and Pacific regions. The review outlines interventions in the areas of HRH policy, management, and education and training. It synthesizes what are considered effective ways of working with the community and ways towards building supportive environments for health workers.
Topics: CHW role, Community health workers, Community involvement, Family planning, FP-MCH integration, Gender, Monitoring and evaluation, Motivation/incentives, Program design, Program management, Recruitment, Reproductive Health, Supervision, Training
Year:
2011
Language:
English CHWs provide health education, referral and follow up, case management, and basic preventive health care and home visiting services to specific communities. They provide support and assistance to individuals and families in navigating the health and social services system.
Use of data to inform CHW program strategy and day-to-day management
A Conversation with:
Anne Liu 
Poor management has often been cited as a common weakness in the sustainability of CHW programs. This is compounded by a lack of flexibility in management personnel to respond to contextual issues, poor training of managers, and a significant dearth of information on day-to-day performance of dynamic programs.
PMTCT (Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission)The Peoples Centered Mission
The innovative strategy is critical to the success of HIV treatment in dramatically reducing HIV morbidity and mortality rates by as much as to reach 80% and reduced thesexual transmission to HIV-negative partners and with improved health outcomes for the HIV-infected patient.
Interpersonal training for Village Health worker on safe motherhood
Frist of all thank you so much for the support that you provided me through this forum.
Well, we have already made Flip chat, and developed messages for each drawing for VHW TOT trainining. From the pretest, every is fine and clear ( picture as well as messages ). They understood all the messages and the flip chart drawing. However in the Interpersonal communiction part they are little bit lost. They don't understand.This might be lots of termologies used
Partners:
World Bank Region and Country: Rwanda
Year:
2010 Topics: Community health workers, Financial management, Motivation/incentives, Task definition
Language:
English Paying for performance (P4P) provides financial incentives for providers to increase the use and quality of care. P4P can affect health care by providing incentives for providers to put more effort into specific activities, and by increasing the amount of resources available to finance the delivery of services. This paper evaluates the impact of P4P on the use and quality of prenatal, institutional delivery, and child preventative care. The results indicate that an equal amount of financial resources without the incentives would not have achieved the same gain in outcomes.
Partners:
Jhpiego Region and Country: Rwanda
Topics: Community health workers, Community involvement, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Language:
English This success story demonstrates how CHWs can play a crucial role in educating women and families about basic health needs and maternal and newborn care. In Rwanda, the MOH uses CHWs to improve MCH; nearly 12,000 were trained by the US Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) to strengthen their knowledge of emergency obstetric and newborn care and active management of the third stage of labor to improve MCH care.
Topics: Community health workers, Community involvement, Country ownership, Documentation/data collection, HIV/AIDS, Monitoring and evaluation, Program design, Program evaluation
Year:
2002
Language:
English This document provides a systematic framework for establishing and maintaining community home-based care (CHBC) in resource-limited settings for people living with HIV/AIDS and those with other chronic or disabling conditions. This document provides a framework to guide governments, national and international donor agencies and community-based organizations in developing or expanding CHBC programmes.
Partners:
Partners in Health Region and Country: Haiti
Year:
2004 Topics: Adherence to treatment, Antiretroviral therapy/ART/ARV, Community and home-based care for PLWHA, Community health workers, Community involvement, HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS basic care and support, Stigma
Language:
English The report discusses Partners in Health (PIH) HIV work in one of Haiti's poorest areas. PIH launched a small pilot project integrating AIDS care with prevention efforts. PIH found that such projects are replicable and may enhance primary health care. CHWs played a crucial role in developing a stronger approach to HIV/AIDS as well as scaling up primary health care.
Partners:
Partners in Health Region and Country: Haiti
Year:
2001 Topics: Antiretroviral therapy/ART/ARV, Community health workers, Directly observed treatment, DOTS, HIV-TB, HIV/AIDS, TB-HIV, Tuberculosis
Language:
English Antiretroviral agents are not yet considered essential medications by international public health experts and are not widely used in the poor countries with high HIV prevalence. With the collaboration of Haitian CHWs experienced in the delivery of home-based and directly observed treatment for TB, an AIDS-prevention project was expanded to deliver HAART to a subset of HIV patients deemed most likely to benefit.
Partners:
Partners in Health Region and Country: Haiti
Year:
2001 Topics: Adherence to treatment, Antiretroviral therapy/ART/ARV, Community health workers, Community involvement, HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS basic care and support
Language:
English This study assesses an HIV treatment program in a rural community in Haiti. Utilizing a community based approach with community health workers, the study found that increasing accessibility to HAART drugs in conjunction with community support, the health of a community can improve. The study concludes that utilizing a more-developed world approach can and should be done in order to reach and treat all citizens of the world infected by HIV/AIDS.
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What's New
From the British Medical Journal: Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illness in India
Health Workers in the News:
New! Community health workers provide crucial health services in Ghana's remote communities
New! Mauritania: Bringing health services to rural communities
About CHW Central
CHW Central is an online community of practice focusing on CHW programs, research, and policy.
Learn about the site’s functions and how you can participate.
Partners
CHW Central is proud to have a number of partner organizations committed to strengthening Community Health Workers.
See all CHW Central Partners
Conversations with...
Anne Liu
May 1, 2012
Member Exchange
Every member of CHW Central has expertise to share, as well as challenges to address. Create a Member Exchange Forum to pose a question you want to discuss, and share your experiences and perspectives by responding to other members’ forum posts.
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Email: chwcentral@initiativesinc.comResources
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