Community health workers (CHWs) have been employed in Nairobi, Kenya to address HIV/AIDS among female sex workers (FSW). However, the effectiveness of these outreach programmes remains inconclusive. A comprehensive search was conducted using electronic databases including PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Studies were selected based on predefined inclusion criteria focusing on interventions involving CHWs targeting FSWs for at least six months post-intervention. Findings from the review indicate that CHW outreach programmes significantly reduced AIDS-related infections among FSWs by 20% (95% CI: 18-23%). The findings suggest a promising role for CHWs in HIV prevention, particularly when tailored interventions are provided. Further research should explore the sustainability of these programmes and evaluate their impact on other health outcomes among FSWs. Treatment effect was estimated with logit (pᵢ) =₀+^ Xᵢ, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.
Mungai et al. (Tue,) studied this question.