Journal article
How does context influence performance of community health workers in low- and middle-income countries? Evidence from the literature
MC Kok, SS Kane, O Tulloch, H Ormel, S Theobald, M Dieleman, M Taegtmeyer, JEW Broerse, KAM de Koning
Health Research Policy and Systems | BMC | Published : 2015
Abstract
Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly recognized as an integral component of the health workforce needed to achieve public health goals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Many factors intersect to influence CHW performance. A systematic review with a narrative analysis was conducted to identify contextual factors influencing performance of CHWs. Methods: We searched six databases for quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies that included CHWs working in promotional, preventive or curative primary health care services in LMICs. We differentiated CHW performance outcome measures at two levels: CHW level and end-user level. Ninety-four studies met th..
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Awarded by European Commission
Funding Acknowledgements
The review presented in this article is part of the REACHOUT programme, funded by the European Union Seventh Framework Programme ([FP7/2007-2013] [FP7/2007-2011]) under grant agreement nr. 306090. REACHOUT is an ambitious 5-year international research consortium aiming to generate knowledge to strengthen the performance of CHWs and other close-to-community providers of promotional, preventive, and curative primary health services in rural and urban areas in Africa and Asia. We would like to thank Ilse Egers, from the Royal Tropical Institute, who helped with the initial literature search.