Moving away from volunteerism in community health? Motivations and wellbeing among urban and rural Ethiopian volunteers.

Questions about the fairness, efficacy, and sustainability of volunteerism in community health have led some states and programs to attempt to scale back their reliance on "volunteer" labor. Such attempts demand theory-driven, comparative ethnographic research that makes sense of how such moves unfold and impact the lives of CHWs and the programs surrounding them. Guided by theory of the interaction of political and moral economies, this article comparatively analyzes two predominantly female community health workforces in Ethiopia, who worked as unpaid volunteers when their federal government was supposedly "moving away from volunteerism" in community health: (1) HIV/AIDS-focused, home-based caregivers in Addis Ababa (2007-9) organized by NGOs; and (2) primary health care-focused members of the Women's Development Army in rural Amhara (2012-16) organized by the state.

Breaking the silence on gendered harassment and assault of community health workers: an analysis of ethnographic studies.

Introduction: Across a variety of settings, women in tenuous financial circumstances are drawn to community health work as a way to advance themselves in the context of limited employment options. Female Community Health Workers (CHWs) are often preferred because they can more easily access mothers and children; at the same time, gender norms are at the heart of many of the challenges and inequities that these workers encounter. Here, we explore how these gender roles and a lack of formal worker protections leave CHWs vulnerable to violence and sexual harassment, common occurrences that are frequently downplayed or silenced.

Political connections and psychosocial wellbeing among Women's Development Army leaders in rural amhara, Ethiopia: Towards a holistic understanding of community health workers' socioeconomic status.

Little empirical research exists on the effects of health work on Community Health Workers' (CHWs') social relationships and status, yet these factors are important in understanding the broad social and behavioral drivers and impacts of CHW programs. This is particularly true for unpaid CHWs. Engaging with others as a CHW might help a worker to embody a valued role in society as a selfless, caring individual; or it might strengthen bonds with others and improve social networks and social capital.

Does volunteer community health work empower women? Evidence from Ethiopia's Women's Development Army.

Of the millions of Community Health Workers (CHWs) serving their communities across the world, there are approximately twice as many female CHWs as there are male. Hiring women has in many cases become an ethical expectation, in part because working as a CHW is often seen as empowering the CHW herself to enact positive change in her community. This article draws on interviews, participant observation, document review and a survey carried out in rural Amhara, Ethiopia from 2013 to 2016 to explore discourses and experiences of empowerment among unpaid female CHWs in Ethiopia's Women's Development Army (WDA).

Psychosocial distress among unpaid community health workers in rural Ethiopia: Comparing leaders in Ethiopia's Women's Development Army to their peers.

There is a growing critical social science literature on volunteering in health programs in non-western, low-income countries, yet few have mixed quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the psychological and social wellbeing of unpaid community health workers in such contexts. We address this issue with data from unpaid community health workers (CHWs) and other women who comprise Ethiopia's state-organized Women's Development Army. We draw on qualitative and cross-sectional survey data collected between 2013 and 2016 to test links between various aspects of psychosocial and economic wellbeing and volunteer status in a rural context.

Volunteers in Ethiopia's women's development army are more deprived and distressed than their neighbors: cross-sectional survey data from rural Ethiopia.

Background: Many Community Health Workers (CHWs) experience the same socioeconomic and health needs as their neighbors, given that they are by definition part of their communities. Yet very few studies aim to measure and characterize experiences of deprivation, poverty, and wellbeing among community health workers. This study quantitatively examines deprivation and wellbeing in Ethiopia's Women's Development Army (WDA), a massive unpaid community health workforce intended to improve population health and modernize the country.