scholarly journals Reminder use to improve service referral use among participants in a community engagement program (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepthi Satheesa Varma ◽  
Mark W. Hart ◽  
Denise S. McIntyre ◽  
Evan K Kwiatkowski ◽  
Linda B. Cottler
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Baseline Assessment ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Service Referral

BACKGROUND Recent research on health care delivery has shown that mobile based interventions are effective in bringing behavior change among clinical populations. Mobile phone-based interventions are considered to be convenient and economical to the provider and non-invasive and hence acceptable to the receiver. Studies have also shown that personalized text message reminders are more acceptable and effective than automated mass messages. However, despite the increasing literature on mobile phone-based interventions (mHealth) contributing to improvement in health care, there is a dearth of information on the use of reminders for social and medical service referrals provided to nonclinical populations by community-engagement programs. OBJECTIVE This pilot study aimed to apply mobile phone-based interventions to improve the utilization rates of medical and social service referrals provided to community members by Community Health Workers (CHW’s) through HealthStreet – a community engagement initiative at the University of Florida (UF). METHODS 300 eligible HealthStreet members were randomly assigned to CALLSONLY, TEXTONLY, CALLS+TEXT reminder intervention groups. Reminders were sent based on their assignment on the 15th and 45th day after the baseline assessment reminding them to utilize the medical and/or social referrals that were provided by the community health workers based on their expressed need during the baseline assessment. A telephonic follow up was done on the 30th and 60th day to assess the rate of utilization of the referrals. Further, a telephone based brief satisfaction survey was also administered to all participants on the 60th day follow up call. RESULTS Out of 290 participants, 201 (69.3%) successfully completed the 30-day HealthStreet follow up and 149 (51.4%) participants successfully completed the 60-day HealthStreet follow up. At the 30-day follow up, 52 of the 201 respondents reported the use of at least one referral and there were no differences for utilization by contact status. At the 60-day follow up, 69 of the 149 participants reported utilizing at least one referral; there were no differences for this group either. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study did not find any significant difference in the rate of service referral utilization between participants who received different types of reminders. The absence of a significant difference between the two groups may be because of the smaller sample size of the study.

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.

Bringing Community Health Workers into the Mainstream of U.S. Health Care

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Pittman ◽  
Anne Sunderland ◽  
Andrew Broderick ◽  
Kevin Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers

scholarly journals Brazil’s Community Health Workers Practicing Narrative Medicine: Patients’ Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rogério Meireles Pinto ◽  
Rahbel Rahman ◽  
Margareth Santos Zanchetta ◽  
W. Galhego-Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Narrative Medicine ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Patient Perspectives ◽  
Care Providers

Abstract Background Narrative medicine (NM) encourages health care providers to draw on their personal experiences to establish therapeutic alliances with patients of prevention and care services. NM medicine practiced by nurses and physicians has been well documented, yet there is little understanding of how community health workers (CHWs) apply NM concepts in their day-to-day practices from patient perspectives. Objective To document how CHWs apply specific NM concepts in Brazil’s Family Health Strategy (FHS), the key component of Brazil’s Unified Health System. Design We used a semi-structured interview, grounded in Charon’s (2001) framework, including four types of NM relationships: provider–patient, provider–colleague, provider–society, and provider–self. A hybrid approach of thematic analysis was used to analyze data from 27 patients. Key Results Sample: 18 females; 13 White, 12 “Pardo” (mixed races), 12 Black. We found: (1) provider–patient relationship—CHWs offered health education through compassion, empathy, trustworthiness, patience, attentiveness, jargon-free communication, and altruism; (2) provider–colleague relationship—CHWs lacked credibility as perceived by physicians, impacting their effectiveness negatively; (3) provider–society relationship—CHWs mobilized patients civically and politically to advocate for and address emerging health care and prevention needs; (4) provider–self relationship—patients identified possible low self-esteem among CHWs and a need to engage in self-care practices to abate exhaustion from intense labor and lack of resources. Conclusion This study adds to patient perspectives on how CHWs apply NM concepts to build and sustain four types of relationships. Findings suggest the need to improve provider–colleague relationships by ongoing training to foster cooperation among FHS team members. More generous organizational supports (wellness initiatives and supervision) may facilitate the provider–self relationship. Public education on CHWs’ roles is needed to enhance the professional and societal credibility of their roles and responsibilities. Future research should investigate how CHWs’ personality traits may influence their ability to apply NM.

scholarly journals Knowledge and attitudes of tuberculosis management in San Juan de Lurigancho district of Lima, Peru

2009 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 783-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Kiefer ◽  
Theresa Shao ◽  
Olveen Carrasquillo ◽  
Pamela Nabeta ◽  
Carlos Seas
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Knowledge Score ◽  
San Juan ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Knowledge And Attitudes

Background: Expansion of the health care workforce in Peru to combat tuberculosis (TB) includes both professional health care providers (HCPs) such as doctors and nurses, and non-professional HCPs such as community health workers (CHWs). We describe the knowledge and attitudes of these HCPs, and identify modifiable barriers to appropriate anti-tuberculosis treatment.  Methodology: We surveyed HCPs practicing in 30 clinical settings (hospitals, community health centers, and health posts) in the San Juan de Lurigancho district of Eastern Lima, Peru. Multiple-choice questions were used to assess knowledge of TB. A five-item Likert scale was created to assess attitudes toward the community, patients, and clinics. Linear regression was used to identify predictors of mean knowledge score, and analysis of variance was used to test differences in HCP score.  Results: Of the 73 HCPs surveyed, 15% were professionals (doctors or nurses). The remaining 85% were health technicians, community health workers (CHWs) or students. The mean knowledge score was 10.0 ± 1.9 (maximum 14) with professional HCPs scoring higher than other HCPs (11.7 ± 1.1 vs. 9.7 ± 1.9), p < .01). Knowledge gaps included identification of patients at high risk for TB, assessment of treatment outcomes, and consequences of treatment failure. The most commonly cited modifiable barriers were structural, including laboratory facilities and staffing of TB clinics, with 52.1% and 62.5% of HCPs, respectively, citing these as problematic.  Conclusions: Efforts to improve knowledge of TB HCPs in Peru should focus on the specific gaps we have identified. Further research is needed to evaluate whether these knowledge gaps correlate with TB control.     

“Through their eyes, I can work” – rural physicians' perceptions about mobile phone use among community health workers – a qualitative analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Manjula Venkataraghavan ◽  
Padma Rani ◽  
Lena Ashok ◽  
Chythra R. Rao ◽  
Varalakshmi Chandra Sekaran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
Stakeholder Group ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mobile Phone Use ◽  
Rural Physicians

PurposePhysicians who are primary care providers in rural communities form an essential stakeholder group in rural mobile health (mHealth) delivery. This study was exploratory in nature and was conducted in Udupi district of Karnataka, India. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceptions of rural medical officers (MOs) (rural physicians) regarding the benefits and challenges of mobile phone use by community health workers (CHWs).Design/methodology/approachIn-depth interviews were conducted among 15 MOs belonging to different primary health centers of the district. Only MOs with a minimum five years of experience were recruited in the study using purposive and snowball sampling. This was followed by thematic analysis of the data collected.FindingsThe perceptions of MOs regarding the CHWs' use of mobile phones were largely positive. However, they reported the existence of some challenges that limits the potential of its full use. The findings were categorized under four themes namely, benefits of mobile phone use to CHWs, benefits of mobile phone-equipped CHWs, current mobile phone use by CHWs and barriers to CHWs' mobile phone use. The significant barriers reported in the CHWs' mobile phone use were poor mobile network coverage, technical illiteracy, lack of consistent technical training and call and data expense of the CHWs. The participants recommend an increased number of mobile towers, frequent training in mobile phone use and basic English language for the CHWs as possible solutions to the barriers.Originality/valueStudies examining the perceptions of doctors who are a primary stakeholder group in mHealth as well as in the public health system scenario are limited. To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine the perception of rural doctors regarding CHWs' mobile phone use for work in India.

Authors’ Commentary: Domestic Violence Against Women, Public Policies and Community Health Workers in Brazilian Primary Health Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-239
Author(s):  
Marcos Signorelli ◽  
Angela Taft ◽  
Pedro Paulo Gomes Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Family Health ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Primary Health

In this commentary paper, we highlight the key role that community health workers and family health professionals can perform for the identification and care for women experiencing domestic violence in communities. These workers are part of the primary health-care strategy in the Brazilian public health system, who are available in every municipalities and neighborhoods of the country. Based on our ethnographic research, we argue that identification and care of abused women by these workers and professionals follow a pattern which we described and named “the Chinese whispers model.” We also point gaps in training these workers to deal with complex issues, such as domestic violence, arguing for the need of formal qualification for both community health workers and family health professionals by, for example, incorporating such themes into curricula, further education, and continuing professional development.

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