Use of mobile phone consultations during home visits by Community Health Workers for maternal and newborn care: community experiences from Masindi and Kiryandongo districts, Uganda

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Western highlands Province were given a 6-month CHW upskilling training to enable them to provide essential maternal-newborn care, do timely referral of high risk clients and refer emergencies to hospital. Five trainings were conducted over the five year period. Forty seven (47) CHWs were upskilled over that five year period. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of the CHW Upskilling Training during 2012 – 2016. Methods: A post-training assessment was conducted by direct observations of the CHWs and the Officer in Charges (OICs) at their workplaces. Assessors observed the application of knowledge and skills and determined if there were improvements in the health facilities. Purposeful discussions were carried out to elicit qualitative feedback from CHWs OICs of the health facilities. Findings: The findings were impressive. The organisation of health facilities improved with specific schedules made for priority reproductive and maternal health services. The recording of maternal and newborn care services indicated great improvement. The ANC, family planning and labour ward registers indicated the kinds of services provided including management of life-threatening conditions. Records show reduced maternal and newborn deaths. Records also show reduced unnecessary referrals. Conclusions: The CHW Up skilling Training Program is an effective intervention to improve reproductive health and maternal-newborn services in remote areas of Papua New Guinea, particularly where there are no midwives, or higher category health care providers. It has contributed to improved maternal-newborn survival. Recommendations: The evaluation recommends that the CHW Upskilling Training should reach more CHWs to fill in gaps in health facilities where there are no midwives or doctor. In Papua New Guinea, the CHWs Upskilling program in maternal and newborn care is recommended for all CHWs.

Download Full-text

Multi-country analysis of the cost of community health workers kits and commodities for community-based maternal and newborn care

Health Policy and Planning ◽

10.1093/heapol/czx038 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 32 (suppl_1) ◽

pp. i84-i92 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Diana Barger ◽

Helen Owen ◽

Catherine Pitt ◽

Kate Kerber ◽

Deborah Sitrin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Community Health Workers ◽

Health Workers ◽

Newborn Care ◽

Community Based ◽

Country Analysis ◽

The Cost ◽

Maternal And Newborn Care ◽

Maternal And Newborn

Download Full-text

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

Health Education ◽

10.1108/he-12-2020-0123 ◽

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.

Download Full-text