Community health workers and Covid-19
Cross-country evidence on their roles, experiences, challenges and adaptive strategies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19594833 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Solomon Salve (0000-0001-5510-9706, corresponding author), Judith Raven (0000-0002-4112-6959, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, corresponding author), Priya Das (0000-0002-3449-7516, corresponding author), Shuchi Srinivasan (0000-0003-3161-6636, corresponding author), Adiba Khaled, Khaled Adiba (0000-0001-8381-9959, corresponding author), Mahwish Hayee (Sustainable Development Policy Institute, corresponding author), Gloria Olisenekwu (0000-0003-0463-736X, Oxford Policy Management, corresponding author), Kate Gooding (0000-0003-4926-0287, Oxford Policy Management, corresponding author) |
| Editors | Amrita Daftary (0000-0003-2275-3540) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | e0001447 |
| Publication date | 2023-01-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | PLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375 |
| Publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pgph.0001447 |
| PMID | 36962877 |
| OpenAlex | W4313485185 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 25 |
| References cited | 38 |
Community health workers (CHWs) are a key part of the health workforce, with particular importance for reaching the most marginalised. CHWs’ contributions during pandemics have received growing attention, including for COVID-19. This paper contributes to learning about CHWs’ experiences during COVID-19, based on evidence from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kenya and Ethiopia. The paper synthesises evidence from a set of research projects undertaken over 2020–2021. A thematic framework based on the research focus and related literature was used to code material from the reports. Following further analysis, interpretations were verified with the original research teams. CHWs made important contributions to the COVID-19 response, including in surveillance, community education, and support for people with COVID-19. There was some support for CHWs’ work, including training, personal protective equipment and financial incentives. However, support varied between countries, cadres and individual CHWs, and there were significant gaps, leaving CHWs vulnerable to infection and stress. CHWs also faced a range of other challenges, including health system issues such as disrupted medical supply chains, insufficient staff and high workloads, a particular difficulty for female CHWs who were balancing domestic responsibilities. Their work was also affected by COVID-19 public health measures, such as restrictions on gatherings and travel; and by supply-side constraints related to community access and attitudes, including distrust and stigmatization of CHWs as infectious or informers. CHWs demonstrated commitment in adapting their work, for example ensuring patients had adequate drugs in advance of lockdowns, and using their own money and time to address increased transport costs and higher workloads. Effectiveness of these adaptations varied, and some involved coping in a context of inadequate support. CHW are critical for effective response to disease outbreaks, including pandemics like COVID-19. To support CHWs’ contribution and protect their wellbeing, CHWs need adequate resources, managerial support, and motivation
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Adaptive strategies · Business · Disease · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Political science · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Mental Health Treatment and Access · Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy · Virology
Responding to fluctuations in public and community trust and health seeking behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic
Social homogeneity and spread of pandemic
Local governance and health equity
Digital learning effectiveness and strategies in medical training
Understanding the challenges and gaps in community engagement interventions for Covid-19 prevention strategies in Rohingya refugees
Accelerating community health worker programmes
Hear my voice
Costs and cost-effectiveness of integrated horizontal community health worker programmes in low- and middle-income countries (2015–2024)
We need to talk about ‘bad’ resilience
Strengthening primary health care resilience through community innovation
How is academic medicine engaging with community health workers in the United States
The effectiveness of community health worker training, equipping, and deployment in reducing Covid-19 infections and deaths in rural Western Kenya
Strategies to maintain health service provision during the Covid-19 pandemic in refugee settings in Jordan and Uganda
Reinforcing community health workers program in africa for universal health coverage and global health security
Involvement of community health workers in the Covid-19 pandemic response in Uganda
Exploring the motivations of female community health volunteers in primary healthcare provision in rural Nepal
Mobilisation towards formal employment in the healthcare system
The experiences of female community health workers during Covid-19 and the influence of gender norms and values in Nepal
An account of health systems resilience to emergencies in Africa
The emotional cost of containment
The effectiveness of rural community health workers in improving health outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic
Shifting roles of community health workers in the prevention and management of noncommunicable disease during the Covid-19 pandemic
Justice at the interface
Community Activation to TrAnsform Local sYSTems (Catalyst)
The role of primary healthcare amid the Covid-19 pandemic
Fragmented health systems in Covid-19
Community Health Workers in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries
Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on utilisation of healthcare services
Community health workers for pandemic response
Prioritising the role of community health workers in the Covid-19 response
Impact of the Pandemic on Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha) in India
Love, labor and loss on the frontlines
Trust and teamwork matter’
Community Clinic-Combining Care and Empowering Community
Digging for Nuggets
Exploring perceptions of community health policy in Kenya and identifying implications for policy change
How do health workers experience and cope with shocks? Learning from four fragile and conflict-affected health systems in Uganda, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Cambodia
Community Health Workers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
| Unique citing works | 25 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 8,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 25 |