scholarly journals Voices from the Field: Perspectives from Community Health Workers on Health Care Delivery in Rural KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 196 (s3) ◽  
pp. S505-S511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjun Suri ◽  
Kevin Gan ◽  
Stephen Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Care Delivery ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

scholarly journals Training and Evaluation of Community Health Workers (CHWs): Towards Improving Maternal and Newborn Survival in an Urban Setting in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 406-413
Author(s):  
Thoko Ndaba ◽  
Myra Taylor ◽  
Musawenkosi Mabaso
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Post Test ◽  
At Home

Background: In South Africa, Community Health Workers (CHWs) are a key component of community outreach teams as part of Primary Health Care (PHC) re-engineering. Although the value of CHW programs has been increasingly recognized, published evaluations of CHWs’ training programs are rare. This study documents the training and evaluation of CHWs on maternal and neonatal care towards improved maternal-newborn survival in an impoverished urban setting in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Methods: Using a descriptive study design, CHWs were trained to do home visits, assess and support the mother to settle in well at home post-discharge, check on babies’ warmth, cord care, breastfeeding, basic hygiene, size of the baby if underweight and advise on Kangaroo mother care. They were also trained to check if the mothers were given the Road to Health card and to inquire about the immunization and subsequent follow-up visits to the PHC, and encourage mothers to adhere to their follow up dates at PHC clinics. Pre-and post-test scores, shadow visits, and spot checks were used to evaluate their performance. Results: Generally, CHWs (n=47) from all three PHC clinics performed well. Overall, the highest post-test score among the PHC CHWs was 72% and the lowest was 50%. On average during shadow visits 67% CHWs were rated as good, 2% were rated as poor, and most CHWs received the highest score at 92% during spot checks. Conclusion: CHWs demonstrated social commitment and purpose in the short term observed. The evaluation of the training of CHWs revealed that most demonstrated the necessary skills for referrals to prevent complications, caring for newborns and their mothers at home immediately after discharge from health care centers. CHW upskilling training on maternal-newborn services should be prioritized in the most affected areas.

scholarly journals Community health workers as a sustainable health care innovation

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Cueva ◽  
Christine Ingemann ◽  
Larisa Zaitseva ◽  
Gwen Healey Akearok ◽  
Josée G. Lavoie
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
Circumpolar North

Health care delivery in the Circumpolar North is challenged by a scarcity of culturally relevant health care services, few medical providers trained in cross-cultural care, and high costs of transportation. Community health workers (CHWs) are primarily Indigenous individuals who provide on-the-ground health care and health promotion services in their own communities. The CHWs’ scope of work varies from health education to clinical care and often focuses on upstream factors that impact the public’s health. Although often overlooked and underutilized, the CHW role is an innovative approach to promoting more sustainable and culturally relevant care within health systems. Investigating and understanding the potential ways that CHW-integrated health care systems support health and wellness could allow for a clearer understanding of how to translate this approach to other regions seeking a transition to sustainability in health and wellness. Drawing on experiences with CHWs in the Circumpolar North, this article introduces a conceptual model summarizing pathways that describe how integrating CHWs supports wellness in their communities. The proposed model includes five pathways for how CHWs could support wellness: (1) the recruitment of CHWs from within a community promotes community capacity and control; (2) the CHW role allows them to advocate to address structural and systemic inequalities that contribute to ill health, if CHWs are supported to organize their communities around wellness; (3) CHWs have the potential to support and empower community members;  (4) CHWs have the potential to develop culturally relevant, feasible, and effective health promotion strategies; and (5) CHWs have the potential to build on community strengths. This model allows for CHW-integrated health care systems to be critically examined to both test and refine this proposed model, and support and empower community health workers as a transition to a more sustainable health care delivery system that reduces inequities and promotes health.

scholarly journals Community Health Workers Can Strengthen Isoniazid Preventive Therapy Implementation in Rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S119-S119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Norton ◽  
Anthony Moll ◽  
Jabulile Madi ◽  
Nkazi Nkomo ◽  
Ralph Brooks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Preventive Therapy ◽  
Isoniazid Preventive Therapy ◽  
Kwazulu Natal
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