Using Human-Centered Design to Adapt Supply Chains and Digital Solutions for Community Health Volunteers in Nomadic Communities of Northern Kenya

Abstract Background In recent years, there has been greater recognition of the important role of community health volunteers in many countries and their important role informs many health programs. This include health education, provision of services such as screening, monitoring and referral to health facilities. Their roles are better understood in the areas of communicable diseases like HIV infection, Tuberculosis and Malaria however little is known about their role in non-communicable diseases. This study seeks to explore perception of CHVs’ functions, tasks, and their fulfilment in identifying people with elevated blood pressure for diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension in Lilongwe, Malawi. Methods This was a qualitative naturalistic research design utilizing observation and semi-structured interviews with community health volunteers working in Lilongwe, Malawi. Interviews were carried out with the researcher. Participants were recruited from the ZaMaC project. An interview guide was developed with a category-guided deductive approach. The interviews were recorded through note taking. Data analysis was performed using content analysis approach. Results Community health volunteers have multiple roles in prevention and monitoring of hypertension. They act as health educators and provide lifestyle counselling. They screened for hypertension and monitored blood pressure and assisted community members to navigate the health system such as linkage to health facilities. These roles were shaped in response to community needs. Conclusion This study indicates the complexities of the roles of community health volunteer in identifying people with elevated BP for diagnosis and monitoring of hypertension. Understanding community health volunteers’ roles provides insight into their required competencies in provision of their daily activities as well as required training to fill in their knowledge gaps.

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Diagnosis of Pneumonia by Community Health Volunteers: Experience of BRAC, Bangladesh

Tropical Doctor ◽

10.1177/004947550103100206 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 75-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Abdullahel Hadi

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Community Health Volunteers

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Making products available among community health workers: Evidence for improving community health supply chains from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Rwanda

Journal of Global Health ◽

10.7189/jogh.04.020405 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 4 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Yasmin Chandani ◽

Sarah Andersson ◽

Alexis Heaton ◽

Megan Noel ◽

Mildred Shieshia ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Supply Chains ◽

Community Health ◽

Community Health Workers ◽

Health Workers

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Pemberdayaan Masyarakat melalui Pelatihan Komunikasi Efektif bagi Kader Posyandu

Jurnal Pengabdian Pada Masyarakat ◽

10.30653/002.202051.271 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 167-174

Author(s):

Ngatoiatu Rohmani ◽

Dewi Utari

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Community Health ◽

Effective Communication ◽

Community Empowerment ◽

Communication Training ◽

Health Development ◽

Good Communication ◽

Community Health Volunteers ◽

Communication Techniques ◽

Community Health Volunteer

COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT TROUGH EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION TRAINING FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH VOLUNTEER (CADRE) OF POSYANDU. Community participation for creating Indonesia’s health development is necessary. One of manifestation of community empowerment is through Posyandu activities that are managed by community health volunteers (cadre) with the aim of providing facilities to the public in obtaining basic health services as a promotive and preventive health strategy in community. Cadres as the driving agent need to be equipped with health promotion skills as an attempt to create national health development optimally. The purpose of this community service is to provide knowledge of effective communication, and to introduce of communication media for promoting of health information. The methods of conducting communication training include: survey activities, communication training, preparing health promotion media and evaluation. The results of the training showed that participants had good communication skills, participants were able to practice effective communication techniques and realized the importance of the media to promote Posyandu activities.

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Analysis of Indonesia’s community health volunteers (kader) as maternal health promoters in the community integrated health service (Posyandu) following health promotion training

International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health ◽

10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20180462 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 856 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patricia Tumbelaka ◽

Ralalicia Limato ◽

Sudirman Nasir ◽

Din Syafruddin ◽

Hermen Ormel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Promotion ◽

Maternal Health ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Community Health ◽

Health Care Providers ◽

Health Messages ◽

Training Data ◽

Care Providers ◽

Community Health Volunteers ◽

Integrated Health

Background: Maternal health promotion is a task allocated to the kader (community health volunteers) in the community integrated health services called Posyandu. Yet, they are inadequately trained to perform this task. We present an analysis of the kader as maternal health promoters after their health promotion training with use of counselling card. Methods: Between March-April 2015, 14 participatory workshops were conducted and 188 kader in four villages in Ciranjang sub-district were trained. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions from community members, health care providers and policy makers in the four villages. A total of 44 interviews were conducted prior to health promotion training and 48 interviews post- training. In 46 Posyandu, kader were observed during their practice of health promotion within 3 consecutive months of post training. Data was transcribed and analysed in NVivo 10. Results: Most kader acknowledged that health promotion training improved their knowledge of maternal health and counselling skills and changed their attitude towards pregnant women at the Posyandu. They could confidently negotiate health messages and importance of health facility delivery with antenatal women. The kader also found the counselling cards helped pregnant women understand the health messages more clearly. The participatory training method involving role play and direct discussions boost kader confidence to deliver health promotion. As a result, the kader gained community appreciation which enhanced their motivation about their job. Conclusions: Appropriate health promotion training, provided the kader with adequate knowledge and skills to become resourceful maternal health promoters in the community.

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Effect of an Educational Intervention on Knowledge and Perception Regarding Rational Medicine Use and Self-medication

Journal of Nepal Health Research Council ◽

10.33314/jnhrc.v16i3.1495 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 313-320

Author(s):

Nisha Jha ◽

Pathiyil Ravi Shankar ◽

Anurag Marasini

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Community Health ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Medicine Use ◽

Self Medication ◽

Community Health Volunteers ◽

Female Community ◽

Pharmaceutical Promotion ◽

Female Community Health Volunteers ◽

The Mean

Background: Rational use of medicines is important for safe and cost-effective pharmacotherapy. However, nearly half of the medicines available in the market may be used irrationally. The present study assessed the perceptions and knowledge about rational medicine use and responsible self-medication among participants before and after an educational intervention at KIST Medical College, Lalitpur. Methods: An educational module was conducted among healthcare professionals, media personnel and female community health volunteers. The questionnaire was administered before and immediately after the module. The areas addressed were rational medicine use, ethical prescribing, rational drug use situation in Nepal, pharmaceutical promotion, rational self-medication, safe use of antibiotics, and drug use problems in Nepal. Results: Among healthcare professionals, the rational drug use situation in Nepal and the total score significantly increased post-intervention (p<0.05). Among media personnel the mean scores increased significantly in pharmaceutical promotion and drug use problems in Nepal areas but there was a significant decrease in safe use of antibiotics. The pre-intervention pharmaceutical promotion score was significantly higher among healthcare professionals compared to media personnel while the rational self-medication scores were highest among female community health volunteers, safe use of antibiotics scores were highest among the media personnel. Post-intervention the mean pharmaceutical promotion scores was highest among healthcare professionals, rational self-medication scores among female community health volunteers, safe use of antibiotics, drug use problems in Nepal and total scores were highest among the media personnel. Conclusions: There were differences in the mean pre-intervention scores among different subgroups. A single session may not be enough to bring about significant changes in knowledge and perception. The retention of knowledge could be measured in future studies. Keywords: Female community health volunteers; health care professionals; media; rational medicine use; self medication.

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Development and Usability Testing of an Emergency Alert Device for Elderly People and People with Disabilities

The Scientific World JOURNAL ◽

10.1155/2020/5102849 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Suchitporn Lersilp ◽

Supawadee Putthinoi ◽

Peerasak Lerttrakarnnon ◽

Patima Silsupadol

Keyword(s):

Community Health ◽

Elderly People ◽

Rating Scale ◽

People With Disabilities ◽

Usability Testing ◽

Individual Interviews ◽

Community Health Volunteers ◽

Testing Phase ◽

Two Phases ◽

General Appearance

The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of an emergency alert device for elderly people and people with disabilities by usability testing. There were two phases in this study: (1) development of a prototype for an emergency alert device and (2) usability testing of the device. Results presented development of the prototype, which comprised parts for sending and receiving signals. There were two kinds of alarms for emergency calls known as conscious and unconscious alerts. Participants in the usability testing phase included 12 specialists and 161 users that comprised 146 elderly people or people with disabilities and 15 caregivers or community health volunteers. The instruments used were a rating scale, usability checklist, and individual interviews regarding the usability, general appearance, and use of the device. The users agreed with the overall aspects regarding usability of the device, its general appearance, and use (X¯ ± SD = 4.24 ± 0.88, 4.11 ± 0.90, and 4.37 ± 0.83, respectively). Most of the participants, both specialists and users, gave their perspectives on improving the size, color of the letters displayed, type of wristband, and method for sending signals.

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Effect of an Educational Intervention on Knowledge and Perception Regarding Rational Medicine Use and Self-medication

Journal of Nepal Health Research Council ◽

10.3126/jnhrc.v16i3.21430 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (3) ◽

pp. 313-320

Author(s):

Nisha Jha ◽

Shankar Pathiyil Ravi ◽

Marasini Anurag

Keyword(s):

Drug Use ◽

Community Health ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Medicine Use ◽

Self Medication ◽

Community Health Volunteers ◽

Female Community ◽

Pharmaceutical Promotion ◽

Female Community Health Volunteers ◽

The Mean

Background: Rational use of medicines is important for safe and cost-effective pharmacotherapy. However, nearly half of the medicines available in the market may be used irrationally. The present study assessed the perceptions and knowledge about rational medicine use and responsible self -medication among participants before and after an educational intervention at KIST Medical College, Lalitpur.Methods: An educational module was conducted among healthcare professionals, media personnel and female community health volunteers. The questionnaire was administered before and immediately after the module. The areas addressed were rational medicine use, ethical prescribing, rational drug use situation in Nepal, pharmaceutical promotion, rational self-medication, safe use of antibiotics, and drug use problems in Nepal.Results: Among healthcare professionals, the rational drug use situation in Nepal and the total score significantly increased post-intervention (p<0.05). Among media personnel the mean scores increased significantly in pharmaceutical promotion and drug use problems in Nepal areas but there was a significant decrease in safe use of antibiotics. The pre-intervention pharmaceutical promotion score was significantly higher among healthcare professionals compared to media personnel while the rational self-medication scores were highest among female community health volunteers, safe use of antibiotics scores were highest among the media personnel. Post-intervention the mean pharmaceutical promotion scores was highest among healthcare professionals, rational self-medication scores among female community health volunteers, safe use of antibiotics, drug use problems in Nepal and total scores were highest among the media personnel. Conclusions: There were differences in the mean pre-intervention scores among different subgroups. A single session may not be enough to bring about significant changes in knowledge and perception. The retention of knowledge could be measured in future studies.

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