Training health auxiliaries

ABSTRACT

There is a need for training auxiliaries as members of the health team. This paper describes a pilot project in the training of Community Health Aides developed by the Department of Social & Preventive Medicine, in 1967, in a sub-urban area adjacent to the University of the West Indies. Based on this experiment, a second training programme was executed in a deep rural area in 1969/1970, and the usefulness of community health aides as members of the health team was further demonstrated. Consequently, the Government of Jamaica has accepted this new category of worker and, since 1972, has trained approximately 400 who are working in both rural and urban districts. Provision is being made for the training of another 600 aides in the near future. It is hoped that training programmes may be developed in other territories of the Caribbean, as efforts are made to meet the health needs of our several communities. (AU)