scholarly journals Facilitators and barriers to birth preparedness and complication readiness in rural Rwanda among community health workers and community members: a qualitative study

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kalisa ◽  
Patrick Smeele ◽  
Marianne van Elteren ◽  
Thomas van den Akker ◽  
Jos van Roosmalen
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Birth Preparedness ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Complication Readiness ◽  
Facilitators And Barriers

scholarly journals Connecting communities to primary care: a qualitative study on the roles, motivations and lived experiences of community health workers in the Philippines

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunice Mallari ◽  
Gideon Lasco ◽  
Don Jervis Sayman ◽  
Arianna Maever L. Amit ◽  
Dina Balabanova ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Financial Incentives ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Community health workers (CHWs) are an important cadre of the primary health care (PHC) workforce in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Philippines was an early adopter of the CHW model for the delivery of PHC, launching the Barangay (village) Health Worker (BHW) programme in the early 1980s, yet little is known about the factors that motivate and sustain BHWs’ largely voluntary involvement. This study aims to address this gap by examining the lived experiences and roles of BHWs in urban and rural sites in the Philippines. Methods This cross-sectional qualitative study draws on 23 semi-structured interviews held with BHWs from barangays in Valenzuela City (urban) and Quezon province (rural). A mixed inductive/ deductive approach was taken to generate themes, which were interpreted according to a theoretical framework of community mobilisation to understand how characteristics of the social context in which the BHW programme operates act as facilitators or barriers for community members to volunteer as BHWs. Results Interviewees identified a range of motivating factors to seek and sustain their BHW roles, including a variety of financial and non-financial incentives, gaining technical knowledge and skill, improving the health and wellbeing of community members, and increasing one’s social position. Furthermore, ensuring BHWs have adequate support and resources (e.g. allowances, medicine stocks) to execute their duties, and can contribute to decisions on their role in delivering community health services could increase both community participation and the overall impact of the BHW programme. Conclusions These findings underscore the importance of the symbolic, material and relational factors that influence community members to participate in CHW programmes. The lessons drawn could help to improve the impact and sustainability of similar programmes in other parts of the Philippines and that are currently being developed or strengthened in other LMICs.

scholarly journals A Qualitative Study on The Role of Community Health Workers In Influencing Social Connectedness Using The Household Model: A Case Study of Neno District, Malawi

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Myness Stella Kasanda Ndambo ◽  
Fabien Munyaneza ◽  
Moses Aron ◽  
Henry Makungwa ◽  
Annie Michaelis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Individual Agency ◽  
Stigma And Discrimination ◽  
Household Model

Abstract Background: There is growing global recognition that community health workers (CHWs) play a key role in facilitating social connectedness. Through direct interactions and relationship building, CHWs link people to key services such as healthcare and social support. Several models aim to understand how CHWs facilitate these interactions, but the theory of change is not yet fully understood. In Neno District, Malawi, CHWs recently transitioned from a disease-focused model to what we call the “household model.” Under the household model, each CHW is assigned to several households to provide screening and linkage to care, as well as psychosocial and chronic disease support. We theorise that this public health approach facilitates social connectedness in the households and rural communities served by CHWs. We aim to understand drivers of influence on social connections from the CHW-, healthcare worker-, and patient perspectives. Methods: This was a cross-sectional qualitative study utilising focus group discussions (FGDs) and in-depth semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled community stakeholders, CHWs, health service providers, and patients (total N=180) from October 2018 through March 2020. Results: Participants reported improved social interactions and connectedness and increased access to health care in their communities following the transition to the household model. This was driven by factors including reduced stigma and discrimination, empowerment of households and community members, and fostering both social cohesiveness and individual agency in accessing health services. The main themes that emanated from this study are; expansion of care by CHWs, trust in CHW’s provision of care, and equal treatment of community members by CHWs. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that through the polyvalent household model, CHWs foster high levels of social connectedness in the communities, evidenced by a reported reduction in stigma and discrimination and an increase in individual agency in accessing health services.

scholarly journals Community Health Workers Working the Digital Archive: A Case for Looking at Participatory Archiving in Studying Stigma in the Context of HIV and AIDS

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naydene De Lange ◽  
Claudia Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Hiv Stigma ◽  
Digital Archive ◽  
Visual Data ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Kwazulu Natal

Addressing the issue of HIV-stigma is recognised as essential to reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS, enabling community members to access prevention, treatment and care. Often the very people who are able to contribute to solving the problem, are marginalised and do not see ways to insert themselves into dialogues related to combating stigma. Community health workers in rural South Africa are one such group. At the heart of the research discussed in this article is an intervention based on participatory analysis through participatory archiving ( Shilton and Srinivasan 2008 ). Drawing on participatory work with thirteen community health workers in rural KwaZulu-Natal, we use a digital archive containing HIV-stigma visual data - generated five years earlier by youth in the community - to engage the participants in the analysis. Drawing on such participatory work as Jenkins’ participatory cultures framework, we focus on the idea of re-using, re-coding, and re-mixing visual data. One participant stated that “these pictures talk about the real issues faced by our communities”, highlighting the value of resources generated by community members themselves. They also indicate that they “could use [the resources] to teach the cons of stigmatising”. A key concern in work related to visual images (particularly in projects such as ours where a large amount of visual data is produced) is to consider ways of extending its life through the use of community-based digital archives.

Motivating and demotivating factors for community health workers: A qualitative study in urban slums of Delhi, India

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 82 ◽  
Author(s):  
MathewSunil George ◽  
Shradha Pant ◽  
Niveditha Devasenapathy ◽  
Suparna Ghosh-Jerath ◽  
SanjayP Zodpey
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Urban Slums

scholarly journals Improving the performance of community health workers in Swaziland: findings from a qualitative study

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Geldsetzer ◽  
Jan-Walter De Neve ◽  
Chantelle Boudreaux ◽  
Till Bärnighausen ◽  
Thomas J. Bossert
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers

scholarly journals Contextual factors affecting the integration of community health workers into the health system in Limpopo Province, South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey Jobson ◽  
Nireshni Naidoo ◽  
Nthabiseng Matlakala ◽  
Gert Marincowitz ◽  
Jean Railton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Limpopo Province ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Abstract Background Community health workers (CHWs) are an essential cadre in the health systems of many low- and middle-income countries. These workers provide a wide variety of services and are key to ongoing processes of task shifting within human immunodeficiency virus programmes in particular. Ward-based outreach teams (WBOTs) are South Africa’s latest iteration of the CHW programme and have been introduced as part of the National Department of Health’s Primary Health Care Re-engineering programme. Methods In order to assess the perceived effectiveness of the WBOTs in supporting the ongoing rollout of antiretroviral therapy, tuberculosis care and patient support, we conducted a qualitative investigation focusing on the perceived successes and challenges of the programme among CHWs, community leaders, healthcare workers and community members in the Mopani district, Limpopo province, South Africa. Results The CHW programme operates across these contexts, each associated with its own set of challenges and opportunities. Conclusions While these challenges may be interrelated, a contextual analysis provides a useful means of understanding the programme’s implementation as part of ongoing decision-making processes.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document