Communities can play a critical role in suicide prevention. Facilitating community engagement in suicide prevention is an important task. The toolkit is a step-by-step guide for communities to engage in suicide prevention activities and have ownership of the process and keep efforts sustained. It is... hoped that the pilot version will be used, after necessary adaptation, in many countries and contexts, so that the final product can be strengthened and become more effective and user-friendly.
more
Bulletin of the World Health Organization Volume 93, Number 9, September 2015, 589-664
This document contains a series of desk reviews for the eight ENGAGE-TB priority countries supported by the Global Fund (DRC, Kenya, Indonesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania). The document provides a situation assessment and gap analysis about the state of community based TB ac...tivities in these countries. The focus on these eight countries was justified by the high prevalence of TB and the very high number of missed/unreported cases.
more
Guide for community-based management and care of people with dementia
Version 1.0
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Division of NCD and Health through the Life-Course
World Health Organization Regional Office for the Western Pacific
Suicides take a high toll. Over 800 000 people die by suicide every year and it is the second leading cause of
death in 15-29-year-olds. Most suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries where resources
and services, if they do exist, are often scarce and limited for early identification, tr...eatment and support of
people in need. These striking facts and the lack of implemented timely interventions make suicide a serious
global public health problem that needs to be tackled urgently.
more
The messages should be used to inform, educate and engage different audience groups depending on their level of risk, vulnerability, presence in contact areas, care of patients with Ebola, or engagement or attendance of burials.
The Kabeho Mwana project (2006–2011) supported the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in scaling up integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in 6 of Rwanda’s 30 districts. The project trained and equipped community health workers (CHWs) according to national guidelines. In p...roject districts, Kabeho Mwana staff also trained CHWs to conduct household-level health promotion and established supervision and reporting mechanisms through CHW peer support groups (PSGs) and quality improvement systems. The iCCM model implemented by Kabeho Mwana resulted in greater improvements in care-seeking than those seen in the rest of the country. Intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and CHW PSGs contributed to this success. The PSGs were a unique contribution of the project, playing a critical role in improving care-seeking in project districts. Effective implementation of iCCM should therefore include CHW management and social support mechanisms. Finally, re-analysis of national survey data improved evaluation findings by providing impact estimates.
more
‘Do not underestimate the capacity of the community; they are smarter and more capable than you think’
A module from the suite of health service capacity assessments in the context of the COVID-19 pandemicINTERIM GUIDANCE5 February2021
The Community needs, perceptions and demand: community assessment toolcan be used by countries to conduct a rapid pulse survey of community health needs and perceptio...ns around effective use of essential health services during the COVID-19 outbreak. The assessment helps to establish an early warning system on the need to implement coping strategies to continue to respond to communities’ health needs throughout the course of the pandemic. This assessment tool is informed by WHO and partner tools and guidance on community health needs, continuity of essential health services and readiness planning for COVID-19
more
Community-based strategies play a significant role in many health systems in low- and middle-income countries, especially in light of critical shortages in the health workforce. The term community health worker has been used to refer to volunteers and salaried, professional or lay health workers wit...h a wide range of training, experience, scope of practice and integration in health systems. In the context of this study, we use the term community-based practitioner (CBPs) to reflect the diverse nature of these cadres of health workers.
CBPs provide preventive, promotive, curative and palliative services across a range of areas, including reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, control of other endemic diseases, and noncommunicable diseases. Significant evidence has emerged over the past two decades on their effectiveness, which has triggered interest in the potential to use their services to expand access to care, in particular in rural and underserved areas where deployment and retention of more qualified health workers is problematic. Calls have been made to integrate CBP programmes in human resources and health strategies, and to scale up rapidly the extent and coverage of CBP initiatives.
more
The mhGAP community toolkit: field test version is an integral part of WHO's Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP), and aims at scaling up services for people with mental health conditions to achieve universal health coverage.
The toolkit provides guidance for programme managers on how to i...dentify local mental health needs and tailor community services to match these needs. It offers practical information and necessary tools for community providers to promote mental health, prevent mental health conditions and expand access to mental health services.
more