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.
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The thirty-seventh meeting of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee was held in Geneva from 25 to 27 January 2023 and chaired by Ms Aishath Rishmee (Maldives). The Committee adopted its agenda and agreed its programme of work. In his opening remarks, the Director-General emphasized the ...crucial work on the financial future of the Organization, most significantly implementation of the Programme budget 2022−2023 and development of the Proposed programme budget 2024−2025, which would be the first to benefit from the agreed increase in assessed contributions. He welcomed the work of the Agile Member States Task Group on Strengthening WHO’s Budgetary, Programmatic and Financing Governance with its recommendations for long-term improvements in reform, prevention of and response to sexual abuse and harassment, new web-based information portals and a new replenishment process for consideration by Member States. Efforts were also under way to improve impact at country level, and he would continue to report to Member States on progress. He was heading an agile, proactive and fast-responding WHO, committed to implementing plans approved by Member States.
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Meeting Report 27-29 October 2020
The overall goal of the meeting was to discuss recent changes in treatment regimens and diagnostics for drug-resistant TB and to determine how these impact on the definition of XDR-TB, with a view to revising this definition. The pre-existing definition of XDR-TB w...as formulated in 2006 at a meeting of the Global Taskforce on XDR-TB, convened by WHO, and has been in use for clinical and surveillance purposes, since this time.
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The 2014-2015 outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Liberia resulted in over 10,000 cases and 5,000 deaths. Recognizing the importance of addressing children’s trauma, the Ebola recovery and restoration trust fund (EERTF) funded the implementation of a Comfort for kids (C4K) program which encou...rages psychological healing, and promotes resilience in children who have experienced a crisis or disaster. The C4K program in Liberia was implemented between January 2015 and December 2016 in fifteen townships in Montserrado County through a collaboration between Mercy Corps Liberia, the World Bank’s Liberian health task team, and the government of Liberia. C4K primarily centers on the My Story workbook and associated classroom activities, which provide children with the opportunity to express their emotions about their experiences through drawing, writing, and facilitated discussion. C4K also provides capacity building for parents, teachers, and other caretakers on how to identify and more effectively respond to children’s trauma responses and to support their recovery
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In 2016, Senegal made a minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. In June, the Government launched an initiative to remove tailbés from the street and prosecute marabouts that perpetrate crimes against their students; however, no marabouts were prosecuted during th...e reporting period. Children in Senegal perform dangerous tasks in gold mining. Children also engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in forced begging, sometimes as a result of human trafficking.
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The main objective of this mission was to assess the level of preparedness of Guinea-Bissau in respect of the WHO consolidated checklist. The checklist helps countries to assess and test their level of readiness it is being used to identify concrete action to be taken and where countries will requir...e support from partners. It lists 10 key components and tasks for both countries and the international community that should be completed within 30, 60 and 90 days from the date of issue of the list, with minimal requirements for equipment, material and human resources.
The components include: overall coordination; rapid response teams; public awareness and community engagement; infection prevention and control; epidemiological and laboratory surveillance; contact tracing; points of entry; laboratory; social mobilization and risk communication; budget.
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Volunteers are impacted by COVID-19 like everyone else worldwide. They worry about being stigmatized by family and community members, fear contracting the virus, having to be in isolation or quarantine, losing colleagues etc. Volunteers may also be affected by witnessing the death of someone they su...pported or be exhausted by having challenging tasks.
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The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated preexisting structural economic inequalities, and had a disproportionate impact on informal workers, especially on women and young people, who lost jobs and income. The situation was even more difficult for single-parent households led by women,... who also had to endure more housework and care tasks. As shown by various research studies, the asymmetric distribution of care tasks, taken up by women, is an inequality factor.
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Occasional anxiety is a normal part
of life. You might worry about things
like health, money, or family
problems. But people with
generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
feel extremely worried or feel
nervous about these and other
things—even when there is little or
no reason to worry about the...m.
People with GAD find it difficult to
control their anxiety and stay
focused on daily tasks.
The good news is that GAD is
treatable. Call your doctor to talk
about your symptoms so that you
can feel better.
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Antimicrobials have been a critical public health tool since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, saving the lives of millions of people around the world. Today, however, the emergence of drug resistance is reversing the miracles of the past eighty years, with drug choices for the treatment of many ...infections becoming increasingly limited, expensive, and, in some cases, non-existent.
Conscious of the public health threats of AMR to both humans, animals and the environment, the ministries of health and sanitation, agriculture forestry and food security and the environmental protection agency put together a national multi-sectoral coordinating group tasked with the responsibility of establishing mechanisms to integrate all initiatives into a single concerted action and development of the national AMR strategic plan (2018-2022). The National Strategic Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance is the first approach which addresses AMR specifically.
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Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant
tuberculosis (XDR-TB) increasingly occur in resource-constrained settings.
In the context of a national response to MDR- and XDR-TB, health workers in
TB clinics (in district hospitals and some accredited health centres) wil...l need
to diagnose MDR-TB, initiate second-line anti-TB drugs, and monitor MDRTB
treatment.
Management of MDR-TB: a field guide was created to help health workers
carry out these tasks. It is a job aid that medical officers and TB nurses
are meant use frequently during the day for quick reference. This module
is closely related to other clinical guideline modules in the Integrated
Management of Adolescent and Adult Illness (IMAI) series. In particular, the
approach to chronic disease management is taken from General principles
of good chronic care in the IMAI series.
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This guide includes sections dedicated to Lebanon, AUB and AUBMC. In addition to international and regional academic sources and articles, the guide includes webinars, reports, maps, videos, and a section for Faculty, Staff and Students highlighting the available online tools & resources to continue... their respective tasks from home. Mental Health management and TeleHealth have been highlighted as well, in addition to a section for Open Educational Resources, one for information on the Vaccine as well as the effect of this outbreak on the Economy.
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This guidance covers diagnosis and care of patients with long-term effects of COVID-19. It makes recommendations for the care of adults and children who have new or ongoing symptoms 4 weeks or more after the start of acute COVID-19. It is meant for health and care practitioners. This interim documen...t has been developed by the Africa Taskforce on Coronavirus Case Management Technical Working Group and will be continuously reviewed and updated in response to emerging evidence
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A practical and instructive guide to the ways that effective supervision can be used to promote continuing improvements in the performance of health workers. Noting that most supervisors are assigned responsibility without sufficient training, the book attempts to give the concept of supervision a p...recise meaning set out in a series of tasks, priorities, timetables, checklists, and instruments for assessment. Throughout, emphasis is placed on the crucial distinction between spot inspections and the kind of well-planned supervision that encourages health professionals to take pride in their work and strive to improve
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Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cancers, and other non-communicable diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries, and The Lancet Taskforce recently made the case for investing in non-...communicable disease prevention. Now, in The Lancet Planetary Health, Benjamin Bowe and colleagues report that exposure to PM2·5 air pollution is indeed a risk factor for diabetes.
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This document synthesizes key elements of the World Health Organization (WHO) normative guidance on health policy and system support for community health worker (CHW) programmes and their application for HIV programmes. Building on relevant elements of HIV guidelines, tools and evidence identified b...y experts, it provides recommendations on tasks and roles that can be performed by CHWs (including for HIV), identifies the policy and system supports to optimize CHW performance, and gives examples of best practice. Its purpose is to inform the optimal design and delivery of CHW programmes targeting – either specifically or as part of a broader approach – the scale-up and sustainability of HIV services.
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Soapbox Collaborative has launched a new training package called TEACH CLEAN, which is a package for those that clean health care facilities in low- and middle-income countries.
The TEACH CLEAN package presents information and materials required to deliver comprehensive, participatory training on s...afe environmental cleaning, applying aspects of essential IPC for these tasks. The package is tailored towards use with low-literate cleaning staff but can be applied to wider facility staff.
To request a copy of the TEACH CLEAN Package, or supporting materials, please complete the online form.
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Yaws is targeted for eradication by 2030, using a strategy based on mass drug administration (MDA) with azithromycin. New diagnostics are needed to aid eradication. Serology is currently the mainstay for yaws diagnosis; however, inaccuracies associated with current serological tests makes it difficu...lt to fully assess the need for and impact of eradication campaigns using these tools. Under the recommendation of the WHO Diagnostic Technical Advisory Group (DTAG) for Neglected Tropical Diseases(NTDs), a working group was assembled and tasked with agreeing on priority use cases for developing target product profiles (TPPs) for new diagnostics tools.
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The Information Management (IM) & Assessment (IMAS) toolkit has been developed for Shelter cluster coordinators, and information management officers at country level. Building on the work done in reference to IM and assessments in the GSC coordination toolkit (CTK), the purpose of the IMAS is to ser...ve as one point of reference for IM and assessment tasks and activities in support to core coordination functions.
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People with Guinea worm disease (GWD) have no symptoms for about 1 year. Then, the person begins to feel ill. Symptoms can include the following:
Slight fever
Itchy rash
Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Dizziness
A blister then develops. This blister can form anywhere on the skin. However, the blis...ter forms on the lower body parts in 80%–90% of cases. This blister gets bigger over several days and causes a burning pain. The blister eventually ruptures, exposing the worm. The infected person may put the affected body part in cool water to ease the symptoms or may enter water to perform daily tasks, such as fetching drinking water. On contact with water, the worm discharges hundreds of thousands of larvae into the water.
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