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August 16, 2018Human Resources for HealthOpen Access

What do we know about community-based health worker programs? A systematic review of existing reviews on community health workers

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Authors

KSKerry ScottSBS. Wilson BeckhamMGMargaret Gross

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Overview

Systematic review identifies key design features supporting community health worker programs globally, highlighting the need for health system integration and supportive supervision.

Key Points

  • To synthesize evidence from existing reviews on how community-based health worker programs can be effectively designed and integrated into health systems.
  • Searched 11 electronic databases between January 1, 2005, and June 15, 2017, for reviews addressing paid or volunteer community health workers with under two years of training.
  • Evaluated review quality using AMSTAR criteria and reported findings according to PRISMA guidelines across 122 included reviews (75 systematic reviews, including 34 meta-analyses, and 47 non-systematic reviews).
  • Analyzed 122 reviews covering low- and middle-income countries (n=83), high-income countries (n=29), and global settings (n=10), revealing substantial heterogeneity in health worker training, selection, remuneration, and supervision.
  • Identified that program success relies qualitatively on community embeddedness, supportive supervision, continuous education, adequate logistical support, and structured integration into broader health systems.
  • Highlighted major evidence gaps regarding health worker rights, optimal training modalities, change-agent roles, and the impacts of health system decentralization and governance.

Cite This Study

Scott et al. (2018) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69fc15f2deb19d96bc306f76https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-018-0304-x
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Also Consider

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  5. 5From the periphery to inclusion within the health system: promoting community health worker empowerment as a way forward2024 · 1 citations