Teams of Community Health Workers and Nursing Students Effect Health Promotion of Underserved Urban Neighborhoods

2013 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Landheer Zandee ◽  
Debra Bossenbroek ◽  
Dianne Slager ◽  
Beth Gordon
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Urban Neighborhoods

scholarly journals Community- based Active Tuberculosis Case Finding in Pastoralist Communities of North-Eastern Uganda

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Guma Isaac ◽  
Emuron John Robert ◽  
Namugambe Swabrah ◽  
Nabirye Gloria ◽  
Philip Denis Okungura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Students ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Case Finding ◽  
Case Detection ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Pastoralist Communities ◽  
Symptom Screening ◽  
Pastoralist Community

Background: Given the global urgency to improve tuberculosis (TB) case detection, a renewed interest in active case finding (ACF) has risen. Missed TB cases pose a serious threat as they continue to fuel TB transmission in the community. We aimed to assess the feasibility of community based ACF for TB among people living in a pastoralist community in Uganda and determine its impact on case detection and treatment uptake. Methods: Between April and May 2019, four third year medical and nursing students placed at Moroto Regional Referral for community orientation worked together with community health workers to conduct a door-to-door survey for TB in pastoralist communities of Nadunget Sub County, Moroto district. The community health workers and the Medical/Nursing students performed symptom screening, collected sputum and facilitated specimen transport to the laboratory. Gene Xpert MTB/RIF assay was performed at the regional referral Hospital for all sputum samples. The community health workers were tasked to follow up on all those clients whose samples turned out to be positive so that they could start treatment as soon as possible. All presumptive cases with negative sputum results were referred to the TB clinic for further evaluation. Results: In one month, we screened 385 individuals and identified 143 aged above 15 years with symptoms suggestive of TB. Among the presumptive cases, 132 (92%) reported a cough of more than two weeks and we were able to obtain sputum samples from 84(58.7%) participants. We diagnosed 11, including 8 bacteriologically confirmed TB cases using Gene Xpert and there was no multidrug resistant case identified. The median time from sputum collection to notification of the positive result was 3 days. All the positive cases were followed up and initiated on treatment. Conclusion: The findings from our study suggest that in a pastoralist community, ACF for TB using a sensitive symptom screen followed by Gene Xpert contributed to improved case detection of TB, shortening the turnaround time hence timely initiation of patients on TB treatment.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and health promotion in Brazil: community health workers between vulnerability and resistance

2021 ◽  
pp. 175797592110123
Author(s):  
Gabriela Lotta ◽  
João Nunes
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health System ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Income Countries

Health promotion in Brazil relies on community health workers (CHWs), frontline providers linking the health system with vulnerable groups. Brazilian CHWs are overwhelmingly women from poor backgrounds, with precarious and sometimes hazardous working conditions, as well as fragmented and unsystematic training. This paper evaluates how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing vulnerabilities of CHWs (pertaining to low salary, precarious and hazardous working conditions and inadequate training) and created new ones, with a profound impact on their ability to carry out health promotion activities. Drawing on testimonials of dozens of CHWs and online discussions promoted by their unions, the paper reveals that during the pandemic CHWs were asked to continue their work without adequate training and protective equipment, thus exposing themselves to the risk of infection. It further shows how the pandemic rendered dangerous the close interaction with patients that is at the heart of their health promotion role. Nonetheless, CHWs sought to adapt their work. In the absence of leadership and coordination on the part of the federal government, CHWs mobilized different forms of resistance at the national and individual levels. Despite this, COVID-19 contributed to a trajectory of erosion of health promotion in Brazil. Findings from this case signal the difficulties for health promotion in low- and middle-income countries relying on CHWs to bridge the health system and vulnerable users.

scholarly journals O agente comunitário de saúde como mutiplicador de conhecimentos em saúde bucal: uma revisão sistematizada da literatura

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Waleska Fernanda Souto Nóbrega ◽  
Gustavo Correia Basto da Silva ◽  
Arlete Maria Gomes de Oliveira ◽  
Danilo Vieira Barbosa ◽  
Renata de Sousa Coelho Soares ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Oral Health ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Family Health ◽  
National Library ◽  
Electronic Library ◽  
Health Strategy ◽  
Family Health Strategy

Objetivo: Avaliar como a literatura científica apresenta o papel do Agente Comunitário de Saúde (ACS) na disseminação de conhecimentos acerca da Saúde Bucal. Métodos: Foram estabelecidos os seguintes descritores: Agente Comunitário de Saúde/Community Health Workers; Programa Saúde da Família/Family Health Strategy; Promoção da Saúde/Health Promotion e Saúde Bucal/Oral Health. As bases bibliográficas selecionadas foram SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library Online), Pubmed (U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine) e BIREME (Centro Latino-Americano e do Caribe de Informação em Ciências da Saúde). Foram utilizadas referências bibliográficas do período de 1991 a 2015. Resultados: Tem sido evidenciado que os usuários das Unidades Básicas de Saúde da Família apresentam níveis satisfatórios de auto-confiança, acesso e uso dos serviços odontológicos quando o ACS atua como multiplicador de informações/orientações em saúde bucal. Apesar disso, os ACS ainda necessitam de uma melhor capacitação e preparo em atividades educativas, garantindo maior formação profissional e melhoria na execução destas atividades. Conclusão: Salienta-se que neste cenário os cirurgiões-dentistas devem contribuir no processo de empoderamento desta população, promovendo a saúde bucal da mesma.Descritores: Agente Comunitário de Saúde; Estratégia Saúde da Família; Promoção da Saúde; Saúde Bucal.

scholarly journals Diagnosis of health care actions: a territorial analysis from the user’s perspective

Revista CEFAC ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 715-722
Author(s):  
Rodrigo Moraes Cruz ◽  
Jacks Soratto ◽  
Joni Marcio de Farias
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Behavioral Changes ◽  
Community Health Education ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Health And Illness ◽  
South Of Brazil ◽  
The City

ABSTRACT Objective: to describe the development of community health actions from the user’s perspective. Methods: a descriptive study carried out in a small city in the south of Brazil, in 2017, with 639 literate residents of both genders. The sample was calculated in a weighted system by neighborhoods, streets and age group, and data were collected by 25 community health workers, distributed into 6 Basic Health Units (UBS). The research instrument included questions about the existence and the awareness of the user about community health education activities. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 22.0. Results: 76.3% of the participants identified frequent community health actions; of these, 67.3% had a nurse present and 70%, a community health workers. 63.6% of the participants thought these actions stimulate the population to reflect on their health and illness, 62.5% self-care, 66% health protection measures and 56.4%, believed that these actions influence behavioral changes. Conclusion: from the perspective of the user, the activities developed fulfilled their expectations about community actions related to health promotion; the results also show that the participants are aware of the actions developed in the city and their significant effectiveness for habits changes. However, the data demonstrate centralized activities that require a re-signification of practices through permanent education on health promotion.

scholarly journals Community health workers in Lesotho: Experiences of health promotion activities

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thato Seutloali ◽  
Lizeka Napoles ◽  
Nomonde Bam
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Access To Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Home Based ◽  
Access To Health

Background: Lesotho adopted primary health care in 1979, and community health workers (CHWs) were included in the programme to focus on health promotion, particularly to reach people in underserved rural areas. Although the CHW programme has been successful, the heavy burden of disease because of HIV and/or AIDS and tuberculosis shifted resources from health promotion to home-based care.Aim: The study explored the lived experience of CHWs in conducting health promotion activities in Lesotho.Setting: The study was conducted in four health centres in Berea district, Lesotho.Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using an interviewer guide translated from English into Sesotho for four CHW focus group discussions, four individual interviews of key informants and four semi-structured interviews with the health centre nurses.Results: The roles of CHWs in health promotion ranged from offering basic first aid and home-based care to increasing access to health care services by taking patients to the facilities and promoting behaviour change through health education. Their perceived successes included increased access to health care services and reduced mortality rates. CHW challenges involved their demotivation to carry out their work because of lack of or inconsistent financial incentives and supplies, work overload which compromises quality of their work and limited community involvement.Conclusion: This study concludes that CHWs are beneficial to health promotion and its various activities. They had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, although they did not fully comprehend that what they were describing was, in fact, health promotion. When it came to advocacy, CHWs did not fully understand it, nor did they consider it as part of their roles, although they acknowledged its importance. Their role of increasing access to health care services by accompanying patients to the facilities has increased considerably because of changes in disease burden. This is affecting their ability to practise other health promotion activities which focus on disease prevention.

scholarly journals Making space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community health workers in health promotion

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 562-574
Author(s):  
Kathleen P Conte ◽  
Josephine Gwynn ◽  
Nicole Turner ◽  
Claudia Koller ◽  
Karen E Gillham
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Torres Strait Islander ◽  
Aboriginal People ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Health Care Systems ◽  
Aboriginal Health ◽  
Global Literature ◽  
Torres Strait

Abstract Despite a clear need, ‘closing the gap’ in health disparities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities (hereafter, respectfully referred to as Aboriginal) continues to be challenging for western health care systems. Globally, community health workers (CHWs) have proven effective in empowering communities and improving culturally appropriate health services. The global literature on CHWs reflects a lack of differentiation between the types of roles these workers carry out. This in turn impedes evidence syntheses informing how different roles contribute to improving health outcomes. Indigenous CHW roles in Australia are largely operationalized by Aboriginal Health Workers (AHWs)—a role situated primarily within the clinical health system. In this commentary, we consider whether the focus on creating professional AHW roles, although important, has taken attention away from the benefits of other types of CHW roles particularly in community-based health promotion. We draw on the global literature to illustrate the need for an Aboriginal CHW role in health promotion; one that is distinct from, but complementary to, that of AHWs in clinical settings. We provide examples of barriers encountered in developing such a role based on our experiences of employing Aboriginal health promoters to deliver evidence-based programmes in rural and remote communities. We aim to draw attention to the systemic and institutional barriers that persist in denying innovative employment and engagement opportunities for Aboriginal people in health.

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