The Use of Community Health Workers in Community Health Centers.

BACKGROUND: Until 2016, community health centers (CHCs) reported community health workers (CHWs) as part of their overall enabling services workforce, making analyses of CHW use over time infeasible in the annual Uniform Data System (UDS). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine changes in the CHW workforce among CHCs from 2016 to 2018 and factors associated with the use of CHWs. RESEARCH DESIGN, SUBJECTS, MEASURES: The two-part model estimated separate effects for the probability of using any CHW and extent of CHW full-time equivalents (FTEs) reported in those CHCs, using a total of 4102 CHC-year observations from 2016 to 2018. To estimate the extent to which increases in CHW workforce are attributable to real growth or rather are a consequence of a change in reporting category, we also conducted a difference-in-differences analysis to compare non-CHW enabling services FTEs between CHCs with and without CHWs before (2013-2015) and after (2016-2018) the reporting change in 2016. RESULTS: The rate of CHCs that employed CHWs rose from 20.04% in 2016 to 28.34% in 2018, while average FTEs stayed relatively flat (3.32 FTEs). Patient visit volume (larger CHCs) and grant funding (less reliant on federal but more reliant on private funding) were significant factors associated with CHW use. However, we found that a substantial portion of this growth was attributable to a change in UDS reporting categories. CONCLUSION: While we do not address the reasons why CHCs have been slow to use CHWs, our results point to substantial financial barriers associated with CHCs' expanding the use of CHWs.

A qualitative exploration of barriers to health-facility-based delivery in Bomachoge-Borabu and Kaloleni, Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: To explore barriers to utilization of health-facility-based delivery in Kenya, use of which is associated with reduced maternal mortality. METHODS: In April 2017, a qualitative study utilizing key informant interviews (KIIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was carried out in Bomachoge-Borabu and Kaloleni, Kenya. Twenty-four KIIs were performed including health service providers, community health workers, religious leaders, local government representatives, Ministry of Health representatives, and representatives of women's organizations. Sixteen FGDs were held separately with adolescent females, adult females, adult males, and Community Health Committee members. Data were transcribed, coded, and categorized thematically to illustrate supply-side and demand-side barriers to use of health-facility-based delivery services. RESULTS: Supply-side barriers included staff shortages, inadequate supplies and space, poor interpersonal relations, few trained staff, long distance to services, poor transport infrastructure, and limited service hours. Demand-side barriers included financial constraints, limited spousal support, observance of birthing traditions, limited knowledge on importance of health-facility-based delivery, and fear of health-facility procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Diverse barriers continue to influence use of health-facility-based delivery services in Kenya. Practical, integrated interventions are urgently needed to reduce barriers noted, to further reduce the maternal mortality rate.

National Primary Care Policy 2017: analysis of teams composition and national coverage of Family Health. / Política Nacional de Atenção Básica de 2017: análise da composição das equipes e cobertura nacional da Saúde da Família.

The Family Health Strategy is the main form of organization of the Brazilian health system. However, the third edition of the National Primary Health Care Policy (PNAB) recognized other types of teams financially. A time series study was conducted from 2007 to 2019 using data from the National Register of Health Facilities (CNES) of jobs, teams and national coverage of Family Health to analyze the effects of the 2017 National Primary Health Care Policy (PNAB) on team composition. We observed the concentration of doctors in the Southeast and Northeast and variation of this professional category before the events of the "Mais Médicos" (More Doctors) Program. The number of nurses increased 5% and Community Health Workers (ACS) dropped 0.3% in the country. Despite the authorization and funding for the implementation of "Primary Care" teams (eAB), they correspond to less than 1% of the total teams. It is noteworthy that the municipal managers' preferred mode is the traditional Family Health Teams, equivalent to 75% of the total and growing. While the questionings and expectations generated by the 2017 PNAB in the context of Primary Health Care, we can conclude that, regarding the teams and their compositions, no significant change was identified two years into its coming into force.

A Estratégia Saúde da Família é a principal forma de organização do sistema de saúde brasileiro. Contudo, a terceira edição da Política Nacional de Atenção Básica (PNAB) passou a reconhecer financeiramente outros tipos de equipes. Para analisar os efeitos da PNAB de 2017 na composição das equipes, foi realizado um estudo de série temporal de 2007 a 2019 utilizando dados do Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde (CNES) de postos de trabalho e de equipes e a cobertura nacional da Saúde da Família. Observou-se a concentração de médicos nas regiões Sudeste e Nordeste e oscilação dessa categoria profissional ante os acontecimentos do Programa Mais Médicos. Houve acréscimo de 5% de enfermeiros e redução de 0,3% dos ACS no país. A despeito da autorização e financiamento para implantação de equipes de "Atenção Básica" (eAB), elas correspondem a menos de 1% do total de equipes. Vale ressaltar que a modalidade preferencial dos gestores municipais se mantem pela Equipes de Saúde da Família, correspondendo a 75% do total de equipes e em crescimento. Apesar dos questionamentos e expectativas gerados pela PNAB de 2017 no contexto da Atenção Primária à Saúde, conclui-se que, em relação às equipes e suas composições, não houve mudança significativa após dois anos de sua vigência.

Política Nacional de Atenção Básica de 2017: análise da composição das equipes e cobertura nacional da Saúde da Família / National Primary Care Policy 2017: analysis of teams composition and national coverage of Family Health

Resumo A Estratégia Saúde da Família é a principal forma de organização do sistema de saúde brasileiro. Contudo, a terceira edição da Política Nacional de Atenção Básica (PNAB) passou a reconhecer financeiramente outros tipos de equipes. Para analisar os efeitos da PNAB de 2017 na composição das equipes, foi realizado um estudo de série temporal de 2007 a 2019 utilizando dados do Cadastro Nacional de Estabelecimentos de Saúde (CNES) de postos de trabalho e de equipes e a cobertura nacional da Saúde da Família. Observou-se a concentração de médicos nas regiões Sudeste e Nordeste e oscilação dessa categoria profissional ante os acontecimentos do Programa Mais Médicos. Houve acréscimo de 5% de enfermeiros e redução de 0,3% dos ACS no país. A despeito da autorização e financiamento para implantação de equipes de "Atenção Básica" (eAB), elas correspondem a menos de 1% do total de equipes. Vale ressaltar que a modalidade preferencial dos gestores municipais se mantem pela Equipes de Saúde da Família, correspondendo a 75% do total de equipes e em crescimento. Apesar dos questionamentos e expectativas gerados pela PNAB de 2017 no contexto da Atenção Primária à Saúde, conclui-se que, em relação às equipes e suas composições, não houve mudança significativa após dois anos de sua vigência.

Abstract The Family Health Strategy is the main form of organization of the Brazilian health system. However, the third edition of the National Primary Health Care Policy (PNAB) recognized other types of teams financially. A time series study was conducted from 2007 to 2019 using data from the National Register of Health Facilities (CNES) of jobs, teams and national coverage of Family Health to analyze the effects of the 2017 National Primary Health Care Policy (PNAB) on team composition. We observed the concentration of doctors in the Southeast and Northeast and variation of this professional category before the events of the "Mais Médicos" (More Doctors) Program. The number of nurses increased 5% and Community Health Workers (ACS) dropped 0.3% in the country. Despite the authorization and funding for the implementation of "Primary Care" teams (eAB), they correspond to less than 1% of the total teams. It is noteworthy that the municipal managers' preferred mode is the traditional Family Health Teams, equivalent to 75% of the total and growing. While the questionings and expectations generated by the 2017 PNAB in the context of Primary Health Care, we can conclude that, regarding the teams and their compositions, no significant change was identified two years into its coming into force.

Understanding incentive preferences of community health workers using discrete choice experiments: a multicountry protocol for Kenya, Uganda, Bangladesh and Haiti.

INTRODUCTION: There is a renewed global interest in improving community health worker (CHW) programmes. For CHW programmes to be effective, key intervention design factors which contribute to the performance of CHWs need to be identified. The recent WHO guidelines recommends the combination of financial and non-financial incentives to improve CHW performance. However, evidence gaps remain as to what package of incentives will improve their performance in different country contexts. This study aims to evaluate CHW incentive preferences to improve performance and retention which will strengthen CHW programmes and help governments leverage limited resources appropriately. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) will be conducted with CHWs in Bangladesh, Haiti, Kenya and Uganda with different levels of maturity of CHWs programmes. This will be carried out in two phases. Phase 1 will involve preliminary qualitative research including focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews to develop the DCE design which will include attributes relevant to the CHW country settings. Phase 2 will involve a DCE survey with CHWs, presenting them with a series of job choices with varying attribute levels. An orthogonal design will be used to generate the choice sets for the surveys. The surveys will be administered in locally-appropriate languages to at least 150 CHWs from each of the cadres in each country. Conditional and mixed multinomial logit (MMNL) models will be used for the estimation of stated preferences. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study has been reviewed and approved by the Population Council's Institutional Review Board in New York, and appropriate ethics review boards in Kenya, Uganda, Bangladesh and Haiti. The results of the study will be disseminated through in-country dissemination workshops, meetings with country-level stakeholders and policy working groups, print media, online blogs and peer-reviewed journals.

Task-Sharing Approaches to Improve Mental Health Care in Rural and Other Low-Resource Settings: A Systematic Review.

PURPOSE: Rural areas persistently face a shortage of mental health specialists. Task shifting, or task sharing, is an approach in global mental health that may help address unmet mental health needs in rural and other low-resource areas. This review focuses on task-shifting approaches and highlights future directions for research in this area. METHODS: Systematic review on task sharing of mental health care in rural areas of high-income countries included: (1) PubMed, (2) gray literature for innovations not yet published in peer-reviewed journals, and (3) outreach to experts for additional articles. We included English language articles published before August 31, 2013, on interventions sharing mental health care tasks across a team in rural settings. We excluded literature: (1) from low- and middle-income countries, (2) involving direct transfer of care to another provider, and (3) describing clinical guidelines and shared decision-making tools. FINDINGS: The review identified approaches to task sharing focused mainly on community health workers and primary care providers. Technology was identified as a way to leverage mental health specialists to support care across settings both within primary care and out in the community. The review also highlighted how provider education, supervision, and partnerships with local communities can support task sharing. Challenges, such as confidentiality, are often not addressed in the literature. CONCLUSIONS: Approaches to task sharing may improve reach and effectiveness of mental health care in rural and other low-resource settings, though important questions remain. We recommend promising research directions to address these questions.

Role of spatial tools in public health policymaking of Bangladesh: opportunities and challenges.

In spite of the increasing efforts to gather spatial data in developing countries, the use of maps is mostly for visualization of health indicators rather than informed decision-making. Various spatial tools can aid policymakers to allocate resources effectively, predict patterns in communicable or infectious diseases, and provide insights into geographical factors which are associated with utilization or adequacy of health services. In Bangladesh, the launch of District Health Information System 2, along with recent efforts to gather spatial data of facilities location, provides an interesting opportunity to study the current landscape and the potential barriers in advancing the use of spatial tools for informed decision making. This study assessed the current level of map usage and spatial tools for health sector planning in Bangladesh, focusing on investigating why map usage and spatial tools remained at a basic level for the purpose of health policy. The study design involved in-depth interviews, followed by an expert survey (n = 39) obtained through snowball sampling.Our survey revealed that assessing areas with shortage of community health workers emerged as the top most for basic map usage or primarily for visualization purpose, while planning for emergency and obstetric care services, and disease mapping was the most frequent category for intermediate and advanced map usage, respectively. Furthermore, we found lack of inter-institutional collaboration, lack of continuous availability of trained personnel, and lack of awareness on the use of geographic information system (GIS) as a decision-making tool as three most critical barriers in the current landscape. Our findings highlight the barriers in increasing the adoption of spatial tools for health policymaking and planning in Bangladesh.

Access to integrated community case management of childhood illnesses services in rural Ethiopia: a qualitative study of the perspectives and experiences of caregivers.

BACKGROUND: In 2010, Ethiopia began scaling up the integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness strategy throughout the country allowing health extension workers (HEWs) to treat children in rural health posts. After 2 years of iCCM scale up, utilization of HEWs remains low. Little is known about factors related to the use of health services in this setting. This research aimed to elicit perceptions and experiences of caregivers to better understand reasons for low utilization of iCCM services. METHODS: A rapid ethnographic assessment was conducted in eight rural health post catchment areas in two zones: Jimma and West Hararghe. In total, 16 focus group discussions and 78 in-depth interviews were completed with mothers, fathers, HEWs and community health volunteers. RESULTS: In spite of the HEW being a core component of iCCM, we found that the lack of availability of HEWs at the health post was one of the most common barriers to the utilization of iCCM services mentioned by caregivers. Financial and geographic challenges continue to influence caregiver decisions despite extension of free child health services in communities. Acceptability of HEWs was often low due to a perceived lack of sensitivity of HEWs and concerns about medicines given at the health post. Social networks acted both to facilitate and hinder use of HEWs. Many mothers stated a preference for using the health post, but some were unable to do so due to objections or alternative care-seeking preferences of gatekeepers, often mothers-in-law and husbands. CONCLUSION: Caregivers in Ethiopia face many challenges in using HEWs at the health post, potentially resulting in low demand for iCCM services. Efforts to minimize barriers to care seeking and to improve demand should be incorporated into the iCCM strategy in order to achieve reductions in child mortality and promote equity in access and child health outcomes.

Healthcare Professional Shortage and Task-Shifting to Prevent Cardiovascular Disease: Implications for Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) account for 18 million of annual global deaths with more than three quarters of these deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In LMIC, the distribution of risk factors is heterogeneous, with urban areas being the worst affected. Despite the availability of effective CVD interventions in developed countries, many poor countries still struggle to provide care due to lack of resources. In addition, many LMIC suffer from staff shortages which pose additional burden to the healthcare system. Regardless of these challenges, there are potentially effective strategies such as task-shifting which have been used for chronic conditions such as HIV to address the human resource crisis. We propose that through task-shifting, certain tasks related to prevention be shifted to non-physician health workers as well as non-nurse health workers such as community health workers. Such steps will allow better coverage of segments of the underserved population. We recognise that for task-shifting to be effective, issues such as clearly defined roles, evaluation, on-going training, and supervision must be addressed.

Financial incentives in health: New evidence from India's Janani Suraksha Yojana.

This paper studies the health effects of one of the world's largest demand-side financial incentive programmes--India's Janani Suraksha Yojana. Our difference-in-difference estimates exploit heterogeneity in the implementation of the financial incentive programme across districts. We find that cash incentives to women were associated with increased uptake of maternity services but there is no strong evidence that the JSY was associated with a reduction in neonatal or early neonatal mortality. The positive effects on utilisation are larger for less educated and poorer women, and in places where the cash payment was most generous. We also find evidence of unintended consequences. The financial incentive programme was associated with a substitution away from private health providers, an increase in breastfeeding and more pregnancies. These findings demonstrate the potential for financial incentives to have unanticipated effects that may, in the case of fertility, undermine the programme's own objective of reducing mortality.

Toward universal coverage in Afghanistan: A multi-stakeholder assessment of capacity investments in the community health worker system.

Global efforts to scale-up the community health workforce have accelerated as a result of the growing evidence of their effectiveness to enhance coverage and health outcomes. Reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan integrated capacity investments for community based service delivery, including the deployment of over 28,000 community health workers (CHWs) to ensure access to basic preventive and curative services. The study aimed to conduct capacity assessments of the CHW system and determine stakeholder perspectives of CHW performance. Structured interviews were conducted on a national sample from 33 provinces and included supervisors, facility providers, patients, and CHWs. Formative assessments were also conducted with national policymakers, community members and health councils in two provinces. Results indicate that more than 70% of the NGO's provide comprehensive training for CHWs, 95% CHWs reported regular supervision, and more than 60% of the health posts had adequate infrastructure and essential commodities. Innovative strategies of paired male and female CHWs, institution of a special cadre of community health supervisors, and community health councils were introduced as systems strengthening mechanisms. Reported barriers included unrealistic and expanding task expectations (14%), unsatisfactory compensation mechanisms (75%), inadequate transport (69%), and lack of commodities (40%). Formative assessments evidenced that CHWs were highly valued as they provided equitable, accessible and affordable 24-h care. Their loyalty, dedication and the ability for women to access care without male family escorts was appreciated by communities. With rising concerns of workforce deficits, insecurity and budget constraints, the health system must enhance the capacity of these frontline workers to improve the continuum of care. The study provides critical insight into the strengths and constraints of Afghanistan's CHW system, warranting further efforts to contextualize service delivery and mechanisms for their support and motivation.

Confronting 'scale-down': assessing Namibia's human resource strategies in the context of decreased HIV/AIDS funding.

In Namibia, support through the Global Fund and President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief has facilitated an increase in access to HIV and AIDS services over the past 10 years. In collaboration with the Namibian government, these institutions have enabled the rapid scale-up of prevention, treatment and care services. Inadequate human resources capacity in the public sector was cited as a key challenge to initial scale-up; and a substantial portion of donor funding has gone towards the recruitment of new health workers. However, a recent scale-down of donor funding to the Namibian health sector has taken place, despite the country's high HIV and AIDS burden. With a specific focus on human resources, this paper examines the extent to which management processes that were adopted at scale-up have proven sustainable in the context of scale-down. Drawing on data from 43 semi-structured interviews, we argue that human resources planning and management decisions made at the onset of the country's relationship with the two institutions appear to be primarily driven by the demands of rapid scale-up and counter-productive to the sustainability of interventions.

Primary care technicians: a solution to the primary care workforce gap.

Efforts to close the primary care workforce gap typically employ one of three basic strategies: train more primary care physicians; boost the supply of nurse practitioners or physician assistants, or both; or use community health workers to extend the reach of primary care physicians. In this article we briefly review each strategy and the barriers to its success. We then propose a new approach adapted from the widely accepted model of emergency medical services. Translating this model to primary care and leveraging the capabilities of modern health information technology, it should be possible to create primary care technicians who can dramatically expand the impact and reach of patient-centered medical homes by providing basic preventive, minor illness, and stable chronic disease care in rural and resource-deprived communities.

Community-based approaches and partnerships: innovations in health-service delivery in Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, rapid advancements in coverage of many health interventions have coincided with impressive reductions in fertility and rates of maternal, infant, and childhood mortality. These advances, which have taken place despite such challenges as widespread poverty, political instability, and frequent natural disasters, warrant careful analysis of Bangladesh's approach to health-service delivery in the past four decades. With reference to success stories, we explore strategies in health-service delivery that have maximised reach and improved health outcomes. We identify three distinctive features that have enabled Bangladesh to improve health-service coverage and health outcomes: (1) experimentation with, and widespread application of, large-scale community-based approaches, especially investment in community health workers using a doorstep delivery approach; (2) experimentation with informal and contractual partnership arrangements that capitalise on the ability of non-governmental organisations to generate community trust, reach the most deprived populations, and address service gaps; and (3) rapid adoption of context-specific innovative technologies and policies that identify country-specific systems and mechanisms. Continued development of innovative, community-based strategies of health-service delivery, and adaptation of new technologies, are needed to address neglected and emerging health challenges, such as increasing access to skilled birth attendance, improvement of coverage of antenatal care and of nutritional status, the effects of climate change, and chronic disease. Past experience should guide future efforts to address rising public health concerns for Bangladesh and other underdeveloped countries.

Barriers and facilitators to the implementation of lay health worker programmes to improve access to maternal and child health: qualitative evidence synthesis.

BACKGROUND: Lay health workers (LHWs) perform functions related to healthcare delivery, receive some level of training, but have no formal professional or paraprofessional certificate or tertiary education degree. They provide care for a range of issues, including maternal and child health. For LHW programmes to be effective, we need a better understanding of the factors that influence their success and sustainability. This review addresses these issues through a synthesis of qualitative evidence and was carried out alongside the Cochrane review of the effectiveness of LHWs for maternal and child health. OBJECTIVES: The overall aim of the review is to explore factors affecting the implementation of LHW programmes for maternal and child health. SEARCH METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, OvidSP (searched 21 December 2011); MEDLINE Ovid In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, OvidSP (searched 21 December 2011); CINAHL, EBSCO (searched 21 December 2011); British Nursing Index and Archive, OvidSP (searched 13 May 2011). We searched reference lists of included studies, contacted experts in the field, and included studies that were carried out alongside the trials from the LHW effectiveness review. SELECTION CRITERIA: Studies that used qualitative methods for data collection and analysis and that focused on the experiences and attitudes of stakeholders regarding LHW programmes for maternal or child health in a primary or community healthcare setting. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We identified barriers and facilitators to LHW programme implementation using the framework thematic synthesis approach. Two review authors independently assessed study quality using a standard tool. We assessed the certainty of the review findings using the CerQual approach, an approach that we developed alongside this and related qualitative syntheses. We integrated our findings with the outcome measures included in the review of LHW programme effectiveness in a logic model. Finally, we identified hypotheses for subgroup analyses in future updates of the review of effectiveness. MAIN RESULTS: We included 53 studies primarily describing the experiences of LHWs, programme recipients, and other health workers. LHWs in high income countries mainly offered promotion, counselling and support. In low and middle income countries, LHWs offered similar services but sometimes also distributed supplements, contraceptives and other products, and diagnosed and treated children with common childhood diseases. Some LHWs were trained to manage uncomplicated labour and to refer women with pregnancy or labour complications.Many of the findings were based on studies from multiple settings, but with some methodological limitations. These findings were assessed as being of moderate certainty. Some findings were based on one or two studies and had some methodological limitations. These were assessed have low certainty.Barriers and facilitators were mainly tied to programme acceptability, appropriateness and credibility; and health system constraints. Programme recipients were generally positive to the programmes, appreciating the LHWs' skills and the similarities they saw between themselves and the LHWs. However, some recipients were concerned about confidentiality when receiving home visits. Others saw LHW services as not relevant or not sufficient, particularly when LHWs only offered promotional services. LHWs and recipients emphasised the importance of trust, respect, kindness and empathy. However, LHWs sometimes found it difficult to manage emotional relationships and boundaries with recipients. Some LHWs feared blame if care was not successful. Others felt demotivated when their services were not appreciated. Support from health systems and community leaders could give LHWs credibility, at least if the health systems and community leaders had authority and respect. Active support from family members was also important.Health professionals often appreciated the LHWs' contributions in reducing their workload and for their communication skills and commitment. However, some health professionals thought that LHWs added to their workload and feared a loss of authority.LHWs were motivated by factors including altruism, social recognition, knowledge gain and career development. Some unsalaried LHWs wanted regular payment, while others were concerned that payment might threaten their social status or lead recipients to question their motives. Some salaried LHWs were dissatisfied with their pay levels. Others were frustrated when payment differed across regions or institutions. Some LHWs stated that they had few opportunities to voice complaints. LHWs described insufficient, poor quality, irrelevant and inflexible training programmes, calling for more training in counselling and communication and in topics outside their current role, including common health problems and domestic problems. LHWs and supervisors complained about supervisors' lack of skills, time and transportation. Some LHWs appreciated the opportunity to share experiences with fellow LHWs.In some studies, LHWs were traditional birth attendants who had received additional training. Some health professionals were concerned that these LHWs were over-confident about their ability to manage danger signs. LHWs and recipients pointed to other problems, including women's reluctance to be referred after bad experiences with health professionals, fear of caesarean sections, lack of transport, and cost. Some LHWs were reluctant to refer women on because of poor co-operation with health professionals.We organised these findings and the outcome measures included in the review of LHW programme effectiveness in a logic model. Here we proposed six chains of events where specific programme components lead to specific intermediate or long-term outcomes, and where specific moderators positively or negatively affect this process. We suggest how future updates of the LHW effectiveness review could explore whether the presence of these components influences programme success. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Rather than being seen as a lesser trained health worker, LHWs may represent a different and sometimes preferred type of health worker. The close relationship between LHWs and recipients is a programme strength. However, programme planners must consider how to achieve the benefits of closeness while minimizing the potential drawbacks. Other important facilitators may include the development of services that recipients perceive as relevant; regular and visible support from the health system and the community; and appropriate training, supervision and incentives.