scholarly journals Towards Sustainable Community-Based Systems for Infectious Disease and Disaster Response; Lessons from Local Initiatives in Four African Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 10083
Author(s):  
Harro Maat ◽  
Dina Balabanova ◽  
Esther Mokuwa ◽  
Paul Richards ◽  
Vik Mohan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Systems Of Care ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Sustainable Community ◽  
Response Planning

This paper explores the role of decentralised community-based care systems in achieving sustainable healthcare in resource-poor areas. Based on case studies from Sierra Leone, Madagascar, Uganda and Ethiopia, the paper argues that a community-based system of healthcare is more effective in the prevention, early diagnosis, and primary care in response to the zoonotic and infectious diseases associated with extreme weather events as well as their direct health impacts. Community-based systems of care have a more holistic view of the determinants of health and can integrate responses to health challenges, social wellbeing, ecological and economic viability. The case studies profiled in this paper reveal the importance of expanding notions of health to encompass the whole environment (physical and social, across time and space) in which people live, including the explicit recognition of ecological interests and their interconnections with health. While much work still needs to be done in defining and measuring successful community responses to health and other crises, we identify two potentially core criteria: the inclusion and integration of local knowledge in response planning and actions, and the involvement of researchers and practitioners, e.g., community-embedded health workers and NGO staff, as trusted key interlocuters in brokering knowledge and devising sustainable community systems of care.

scholarly journals Strengthening Disaster Response and Resilience in Lao PDR - A Decade of Learning Since Typhoon Ketsana

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 234-240
Author(s):  
Dina Vivona ◽  
◽  
Manivanh Suyavong
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Lao Pdr ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Developed Country ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
The Government ◽  
And Gender

When the southern provinces of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) were hit by Typhoon Ketsana in September 2009, it brought devastation and destruction to over 200,000 people. The impacts of the disaster only exacerbated the social and economic vulnerabilities Lao PDR was already facing as a Least Developed Country. Despite the challenges encountered by emergency response teams and aid workers, the Government of Lao PDR used the lessons learnt to improve humanitarian response planning and strengthen community-based disaster resilience. This review seeks to evaluate the progress made in disaster risk management in Lao PDR since Typhoon Ketsana, and analyze the impacts a gender analysis conducted by Oxfam Australia had on mainstreaming inclusive and gender-responsive approaches to disaster risk reduction. It will also provide key recommendations to support the continuous development of community-based disaster risk reduction.

Hospitals: Soft Target for Terrorism?

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 94-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald De Cauwer ◽  
Francis Somville ◽  
Marc Sabbe ◽  
Luc J. Mortelmans
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Terrorist Attack ◽  
Previous History ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Soft Target

AbstractIn recent years, the world has been rocked repeatedly by terrorist attacks. Arguably, the most remarkable were: the series of four coordinated suicide plane attacks on September 11, 2001 on buildings in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, USA; and the recent series of two coordinated attacks in Brussels (Belgium), on March 22, 2016, involving two bombings at the departure hall of Brussels International Airport and a bombing at Maalbeek Metro Station located near the European Commission headquarters in the center of Brussels.This statement paper deals with different aspects of hospital policy and disaster response planning that interface with terrorism. Research shows that the availability of necessary equipment and facilities (eg, personal protective clothing, decontamination rooms, antidotes, and anti-viral drugs) in hospitals clearly is insufficient. Emergency teams are insufficiently prepared: adequate and repetitive training remain necessary.Unfortunately, there are many examples of health care workers and physicians or hospitals being targeted in both political or religious conflicts and wars. Many health workers were kidnapped and/or killed by insurgents of various ideology. Attacks on hospitals also could cause long-term effects: hospital units could be unavailable for a long time and replacing staff could take several months, further compounding hospital operations. Both physical and psychological (eg, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) after-effects of a terrorist attack can be detrimental to health care services. On the other hand, physicians and other hospital employees have shown to be involved in terrorism. As data show that some offenders had a previous history with the location of the terror incident, the possibility of hospitals or other health care services being targeted by insiders is discussed.The purpose of this report was to consider how past terrorist incidents can inform current hospital preparedness and disaster response planning.De CauwerH,SomvilleF,SabbeM,MortelmansLJ.Hospitals: soft target for terrorism?Prehosp Disaster Med.2017;32(1):94–100.

Immunization Drop-Outs and Maternal Behavior: Evaluation of Reasons Given and Strategies for Maintaining Gains Made in the National Vaccination Campaign in Liberia

1989 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Bender ◽  
Rose Jallah MacAuley
Keyword(s):  
Operations Research ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Vaccination Campaign ◽  
Front Line ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Childhood Diseases ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Drop Outs ◽  
Made In

Through annual National Vaccination Weeks, Liberia, one of thirteen African countries participating in the CCCD program, has achieved good rates of initial vaccination coverage against childhood diseases. However, rates of completion have been disappointing. Described is a community-based operations research methodology for a.) identifying reasons for non-completion of the vaccination series according to groups of mothers, front-line health workers and country level administrators, b.) for making recommendations for alternatives in the delivery system, and c.) for critiquing the focus group methodology as a tool for increasing commitment to program goals.

Establishing a Sustainable Community-Based Enterprise: The Case of Lugait Mamingkahay Association in Lugait, Misamis Oriental

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Pia M. Sison ◽  
Ramelyn L. Bracero ◽  
Resa Mae C. Laygan ◽  
Gerrylou Sweet M. Pia ◽  
Shiela G. Sinconiegue
Keyword(s):  
Community Based ◽  
Sustainable Community

scholarly journals Can public sector community health workers deliver a nurturing care intervention in South Africa? The Amagugu Asakhula feasibility study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonja Klingberg ◽  
Esther M. F. van Sluijs ◽  
Stephanie T. Jong ◽  
Catherine E. Draper
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Care Facility ◽  
Health Care Facility ◽  
Preschool Age ◽  
Primary Health Care Facility ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Primary Health

Abstract Background Nurturing care interventions have the potential to promote health and development in early childhood. Amagugu Asakhula was designed to promote developmentally important dietary and movement behaviours among children of preschool age (3–5 years) in South Africa. An initial formative study in Cape Town found the intervention to be feasible and acceptable when delivered by community health workers (CHWs) linked to a community-based organisation. This study evaluated the delivery of the Amagugu Asakhula intervention by CHWs linked to a public sector primary health care facility in Soweto, as this mode of delivery could have more potential for sustainability and scalability. Methods A qualitative design was utilised to assess feasibility, acceptability, adoption, appropriateness, implementation, fidelity and context. CHWs (n = 14) delivered the intervention to caregivers (n = 23) of preschool-age children in Soweto over 6 weeks. Following the completion of the intervention, focus group discussions were held with CHWs and caregivers. Further data were obtained through observations, study records and key informant interviews (n = 5). Data were analysed using deductive thematic analysis guided by a process evaluation framework. Results The delivery of the Amagugu Asakhula intervention through CHWs linked to a primary health care facility in Soweto was not found to be feasible due to contextual challenges such as late payment of salaries influencing CHW performance and willingness to deliver the intervention. CHWs expressed dissatisfaction with their general working conditions and were thus reluctant to take on new tasks. Despite barriers to successful delivery, the intervention was well received by both CHWs and caregivers and was considered a good fit with the CHWs’ scope of work. Conclusions Based on these findings, delivery of the Amagugu Asakhula intervention is not recommended through public sector CHWs in South Africa. This feasibility study informs the optimisation of implementation and supports further testing of the intervention’s effectiveness when delivered by CHWs linked to community-based organisations. The present study further demonstrates how implementation challenges can be identified through qualitative feasibility studies and subsequently addressed prior to large-scale trials, avoiding the wasting of research and resources.

scholarly journals The implementation of a mobile application to support community-based health workers

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A C F Martins ◽  
P L Pereira ◽  
A C C N Mafra ◽  
J L Miraglia ◽  
C N Monteiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Data Entry ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Economic Data ◽  
Process Change ◽  
Community Based

Abstract Issue Real-time access to up-to-date population information is essential to the strategic planning of primary health care (PHC). In the Brazilian public health system community-based health workers (CHWs), working as part of PHC teams, collect health, demographic and socio-economic data from individuals mainly through paper-based forms that are later entered manually into electronic information systems. Mobile applications could help to improve the quality and speed of this process facilitating the CHWs day-to-day work while improving the access to the collected information. Description of the Problem During September of 2019, a mobile application installed in tablets for the collection of health, demographic and socio-economic data was deployed for 432 CHWs of 87 PHC teams in the southern region of São Paulo, Brazil, serving a total population of 283,324 individuals. During implementation, the acceptability and challenges faced by CHWs were evaluated and the time taken to complete data entry. Results Seventy-two hours of training were offered to CHWs and other 139 professionals including managers, nurses and administrative staff (AS). Some CHWs reported concerns about the process change and fear of not being able to operate the application, especially those unfamiliar to the technology. With training and team support, fear was transformed into satisfaction with the realization of the benefits of the system. The main infrastructure challenge was the need for installation of Wi-Fi routers in some health care units, in addition to the replacement 4.4% of damaged tablets. In four months 97.6% of the total population was registered in the application. Lessons A WhatsApp group was created to clarify AS doubts, receive suggestions and disseminate guidelines. AS remained as the reference point at healthcare units and data completeness still needs to be reinforced. Key messages A mobile application was well-accepted by CHWs and could facilitate the collection of population data. A tablet app proved to be a useful tool to generate information for the PHC teams.

scholarly journals Community-Based Conservation for the Sustainable Management of Conservation Conflicts: Learning from Practitioners

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7557
Author(s):  
Juliette Claire Young ◽  
Justine Shanti Alexander ◽  
Ajay Bijoor ◽  
Deepshikha Sharma ◽  
Abhijit Dutta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Sustainable Management ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Snow Leopard ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Based Conservation ◽  
Strategic Support

We explore the role of community-based conservation (CBC) in the sustainable management of conservation conflicts by examining the experiences of conservation practitioners trying to address conflicts between snow leopard conservation and pastoralism in Asian mountains. Practitioner experiences are examined through the lens of the PARTNERS principles for CBC (Presence, Aptness, Respect, Transparency, Negotiation, Empathy, Responsiveness, and Strategic Support) that represent an inclusive conservation framework for effective and ethical engagement with local communities. Case studies from India, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Pakistan show that resilient relationships arising from respectful engagement and negotiation with local communities can provide a strong platform for robust conflict management. We highlight the heuristic value of documenting practitioner experiences in on-the-ground conflict management and community-based conservation efforts.

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