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Reimagining effective workplace support for health workers

World Health Organisation (WHO) (2024) C_WHO

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic revealed systemic weaknesses in health-care systems worldwide. The breadth of challenges left health workers overwhelmed and overstretched, reducing their professional efficacy and causing long-term issues with retention, recruitment and education of ... more

Occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers exposed to cleaning agents in tertiary hospitals

Mwanga, H.; Baatjies, R.; Jeebhay, M.F. BMJ (2023) CC2

This study investigated occupational risk factors and exposure–response relationships for airway disease among health workers (HWs) exposed to cleaning agents in two tertiary hospitals in South Africa and Tanzania. Previous studies have demonstrated an association between asthma or respiratory ... more

World Asthma Day: Nigerian Thoracic Society advocates better asthma care in Nigeria

Aikulola, S. (2023) CC2

As part of efforts to celebrate World Asthma Day (WAD), May 2, 2023, and reduce the burden of asthma in Nigeria, the Nigerian Thoracic Society (NTS) has advocated education of asthma patients and carers as an integral part of asthma care to achieve optimal control of symptoms and exacerbation.

Qualitative assessment of community health workers’ perspective on their motivation in community-based primary health care in rural Malawi

Ndambo, M.K.; Munyaneza, F.; Aron, M.B. et al. BMC Health Services Research (2022) CC

Background: Community Health Workers (CHWs) have a positive impact on the provision of community-based primary health care through screening, treatment, referral, psychosocial support, and accompaniment. With a broad scope of work, CHW programs must balance the breadth and depth of tasks to mainta ... in CHW motivation for high-quality care delivery. Few studies have described the CHW perspective on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to enhance their programmatic activities. Methods: We utilized an exploratory qualitative study design with CHWs employed in the household model in Neno District, Malawi, to explore their perspectives on intrinsic and extrinsic motivators and dissatisfiers in their work. Data was collected in 8 focus group discussions with 90 CHWs in October 2018 and March–April 2019 in seven purposively selected catchment areas. All interviews were audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed using Dedoose. Results: Themes of complex intrinsic and extrinsic factors were generated from the perspectives of the CHWs in the focus group discussions. Study results indicate that enabling factors are primarily intrinsic factors such as positive patient outcomes, community respect, and recognition by the formal health care system but can lead to the chal- lenge of increased scope and workload. Extrinsic factors can provide challenges, including an increased scope and workload from original expectations, lack of resources to utilize in their work, and rugged geography. However, a posi- tive work environment through supportive relationships between CHWs and supervisors enables the CHWs. Conclusion: This study demonstrated enabling factors and challenges for CHW performance from their perspec- tive within the dual-factor theory. We can mitigate challenges through focused efforts to limit geographical distance, manage workload, and strengthen CHW support to reinforce their recognition and trust. Such programmatic empha- sis can focus on enhancing motivational factors found in this study to improve the CHWs’ experience in their role. The engagement of CHWs, the communities, and the formal health care system is critical to improving the care provided to the patients and communities, along with building supportive systems to recognize the work done by CHWs for the primary health care systems. more

Social protection programmes in Malawi

Government of Malawi; Unicef (2022) C_UNICEF

Social protection programmes in Malawi ensure that those most in need get the essential assistance they require.Social protection programmes help the most vulnerable, including the elderly, ultra-poor, disabled, and children

Overview of capacity building opportunities in “One Health”, internationally and with focus on Africa

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GIZ (2022) CC2

An interdisciplinary approach to address global health challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, loss of biodiversity, human migration has been framed by the One Health approach. This approach is promoted at global level by the Tripartite of the World Health Organisation, the World A ... more

Community health workers to improve uptake of maternal healthcare services: A clusterrandomized pragmatic trial in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Geldsetzer, P.; Mboggo, E.; Larson, E.; et al. (2019) CC2

PLoS Med 16(3): e1002768. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002768 Home delivery and late and infrequent attendance at antenatal care (ANC) are responsible for substantial avoidable maternal and pediatric morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. This cluster-randomized trial aimed to de ... more

Community Health Worker Training Curriculum - Facilitator's Guide

Baylor Tingathe Community Outreach Programme Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Malawi (2016) CC

This curriculum was designed to train newly recruited health care workers (HCW) in the basic knowledge and skills needed to improve different HIV services within the health facility including identification, linkage, retention and support. In addition to HIV basics, the training has supplementary un ... more

Trends in silicosis prevalence and the healthy worker effect among gold miners in South Africa: a prevalence study with follow up of employment status

Knight, D.; Ehrlich, R.; Fielding, K.; et al. BMC Public Health (2015) CC2

Given the intimate association between silicosis and tuberculosis, understanding the epidemiology of the South African gold mining industry silicosis epidemic is essential to current initiatives to control both silicosis and tuberculosis in this population, one of the most heavily affected globally. ... more