The performance of community health workers in the management of multiple childhood infectious diseases in Lira, northern Uganda – a mixed methods cross-sectional study

The performance of CHWs in Lira was inadequate. There is a need to consider pre-qualification testing before CHWs are appointed. Providing ongoing support and supervision, and ensuring that CHWs have at least secondary education can be helpful in improving their performance. Health system managers also need to ensure that the CHWs' workload is moderated as work overload will reduce performance. Finally, although short training programs are beneficial to some degree, they are not sufficient and should be followed up with regular refresher training.