Mixed method evaluation of a learning from excellence programme for community health workers in Neno, Malawi.

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) play an essential role in linking communities to facility-based healthcare. However, CHW programmes have often been hampered by low levels of staff motivation, and new tools aimed at improving staff motivation and work environment are needed. One such intervention is the "Learning from Excellence" (LfE) programme.

Perspectives of community and facility stakeholders on community health workers in rural Malawi.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) bridge the primary health care (PHC) system and communities by providing care in the household. In Malawi, few studies have examined the perspective of users of household-level CHW services, in remote areas, to understand CHW's role in community-based PHC.

Aim: To explore perspectives of community and facility stakeholders on the enablers and challenges of the CHW role in community-based PHC in Neno District.

A time-motion study of community health workers delivering community-based primary health care in Neno District, Malawi.

Introduction: Community health workers (CHWs) are vital resources in delivering community-based primary health care, especially in low-and-middle-income countries (LMIC). However, few studies have investigated detailed time and task assessments of CHW's work. We conducted a time-motion study to evaluate CHWs' time on health conditions and specific tasks in Neno District, Malawi.

The role of community health workers in influencing social connectedness using the household model: a qualitative case study from Malawi.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in facilitating social connectedness, building trust, decrease stigma, and link communities to essential healthcare and social support services. More studies are needed to understand the factors facilitating these interactions among CHWs, clients, and community members.

Objective: This study examined the CHW role and relationships between CHWs, communities, and health facilities that promote trust, positive relationships, and social connectedness.

A household-based community health worker programme for non-communicable disease, malnutrition, tuberculosis, HIV and maternal health: a stepped-wedge cluster randomised controlled trial in Neno District, Malawi.

Background: Community health worker (CHW) programmes are a valuable component of primary care in resource-poor settings. The evidence supporting their effectiveness generally shows improvements in disease-specific outcomes relative to the absence of a CHW programme. In this study, we evaluated expanding an existing HIV and tuberculosis (TB) disease-specific CHW programme into a polyvalent, household-based model that subsequently included non-communicable diseases (NCDs), malnutrition and TB screening, as well as family planning and antenatal care (ANC).

Increasing utilisation of perinatal services: estimating the impact of community health worker program in Neno, Malawi.

Background: By 2015, Malawi had not achieved Millennium Development Goal 4, reducing maternal mortality by about 35% from 675 to 439 deaths per 100,000 livebirths. Hypothesised reasons included low uptake of antenatal care (ANC), intrapartum care, and postnatal care. Involving community health workers (CHWs) in identification of pregnant women and linking them to perinatal services is a key strategy to reinforce uptake of perinatal care in Neno, Malawi.

Determining whether Community Health Workers are 'Deployment Ready' Using Standard Setting.

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) provide basic health screening and advice to members of their own communities. Although CHWs are trained, no CHW programmes have used a formal method to identify the level of achievement on post-training assessments that distinguishes "safe" from "unsafe". Objectives: The aim of this study was to use Ebel method of standard setting for a post-training written knowledge assessment for CHWs in Neno, Malawi.

Assessing and improving data quality from community health workers: a successful intervention in Neno, Malawi.

Setting: A community health worker (CHW) program was established in Neno District, Malawi, in 2007 by Partners In Health in support of Ministry of Health activities. Routinely generated CHW data provide critical information for program monitoring and evaluation. Informal assessments of the CHW reports indicated poor quality, limiting the usefulness of the data.