Assessing the knowledge and skill of ASHA community health workers in blood pressure measurement and primary care of hypertension.

Introduction: India has a high burden of hypertension, and community health workers (CHWs) can contribute to its primary care. Studies of small-scale interventions have shown that trained CHWs can be useful contributors to hypertension care. No assessments are available in India on effectiveness of CHW training when conducted on a large scale.

Impact of community health workers on improving identification and primary care of hypertension among the urban poor - findings from Chhattisgarh state of India.

Background: Hypertension is a major health problem globally and in India. Around 60% of people with hypertension in India are not aware that they have the condition. Less than 30% of individuals with hypertension are on treatment.

Assessing afebrile malaria and bed-net use in a high-burden region of India: Findings from multiple rounds of mass screening.

A key obstacle in the fight against malaria is afebrile malaria. It remains undiagnosed and, therefore, is invisible to the health system. Apart from being a serious illness, it contributes to increased transmission.

Role of Mitanin community health workers in improving complementary feeding practices under scaled-up home-based care of young children in a rural region of India.

Background: A large proportion of young children in developing countries receive inadequate feeding and face frequent infections. Global research has established the need for improving feeding practices and management of child illnesses. Interventions involving home visits by community health workers (CHWs) for caregiver education have been attempted in many countries.

Coverage of home-based newborn care and screening by ASHA community health workers: Findings from a household survey in Chhattisgarh state of India.

Background And Objectives: Community health workers known as Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) provide home visits for home-based newborn care (HBNC) in India. The objectives of the study were to assess coverage of HBNC, to assess current practices of newborn care by the care providers and to assess status of screening of sick newborns by ASHAs in rural Chhattisgarh.

Methods: The study was a quantitative cross-sectional study.

Assessing the time use and payments of multipurpose community health workers for the various roles they play-a quantitative study of the Mitanin programme in India.

Background: Community health workers (CHWs) are crucial human resources for health. While specialist CHWs focus on a single disease vertically, the generalist or multipurpose CHWs perform wider functions. The current study was aimed at examining the time multipurpose CHWs spend on performing their different roles.

Malaria prevalence in symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women in a high malaria-burden state in India.

Introduction: Malaria in pregnancy ('MiP') poses risks to mother, foetus and newborn. Studies from Africa and Asia have reported high prevalence of 'MiP' and recommended further research to address 'MiP'. India has a significant burden of 'MiP' but most of the studies are a decade old.

Coverage of community case management for malaria through CHWs: a quantitative assessment using primary household surveys of high-burden areas in Chhattisgarh state of India.

Background: Community Case Management of Malaria (CCMM) has been implemented through community health workers (CHWs) in many countries. Existing studies have shown that CHWs can be viable means of implementing CCMM. However, not many studies have examined the coverage under large-scale CCMM programmes.