Strengthening primary health care through community health workers in South Asia.

Autor:	Shrestha P; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA., Afsana K; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Weerasinghe MC; Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka., Perry HB; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA., Joshi H; India Primary Healthcare Support Initiative, Johns Hopkins India Private Ltd., Delhi, India., Rana N; Nepal Development Society, Kathmandu, Nepal., Memon ZA; Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan., Khaled N; BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh., Malhotra S; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India., Bhardwaj S; All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India., Kafle S; Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark., Inagaki Y; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA., Schimdt A; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA., Hodgins S; College of Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada., Neupane D; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA., Rao KD; Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia [Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia] 2024 Aug 20; Vol. 28, pp. 100463. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 20 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI:	10.1016/j.lansea.2024.100463
Abstrakt:	The growing health challenges in South Asia require further adaptations of community health worker (CHW) programs as a key element of primary health care (PHC). This paper provides a comparative analysis of CHW programs in five countries (Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), examines successes and challenges, and suggests reforms to better ensure highly performing CHW programs. To examine CHW programs in the region, we conducted a narrative review of the peer-reviewed and grey literatures, as well as eliciting opinions from experts. Common roles of CHWs include health education, community mobilization, and community-based services, particularly related to reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health. Some countries utilize CHWs for non-communicable diseases and other emerging health issues. To maximize the potential contribution of CHWs to achieving Universal Health Coverage, we recommend future research and policy focus on strengthening existing health systems to support the expansion of CHWs roles and better integrating of CHWs into national PHC systems. This is Paper 4 in the Series on Primary Health Care in South Asia, addressing areas that have the potential to revitalize health systems in South Asian countries. Funding: The authors received financial support from the Department of Health Systems Development, WHO South-East Asia Regional Office (WHO SEAR). Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest in writing this manuscript. (© 2024 The Authors.)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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