Challenges of Community Health Officers working in Health and Wellness Centers, Sonitpur, Assam: A qualitative study

Background: To effectively deliver comprehensive primary health care services, the new cadre of Community Health Officers (CHOs) is provisioned at the Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs), whose main focus is primary and secondary prevention as well as health promotion at the community level. Aim: To explore the challenges of Community Health Officers working in Health and Wellness Centers, Sonitpur, Assam. Methodology: The study used a qualitative approach and phenomenological research design. A total of 20 Community Health Officers were selected for the study by using Convenience sampling technique. A socio demographic proforma and a semi structured interview guide were used to collect data from the Community Health Officers. Results: The findings of the study showed that maximum numbers of CHOs belonged to the age group of 20-30 years and they were married female. Maximum of the CHOs were B. Sc. Nursing qualified and having work experiences of 1-5 years. The study emerged with 3 main themes along with their sub themes. The themes were (1) Geographical challenges (2) Organizational challenges, (3) Community challenges. Conclusion: The study concluded that majority of the Community Health Officers were overburdened due to diversified task. A majority of them reported a negative impact on their family and personal time due to their increased work and also some CHOs have encounted various obstacles related to lack of community participation. This research results indicate a requirement for further studies to investigate CHOs challenges and develop evidence based solutions to mitigate the challenges they encounter.