Ebola and community health worker services in Kenema District, Sierra Leone: please mind the gap!
Management trends in childhood malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia by CHWs before, during and after ebola
Abstract
Setting
All community health workers (CHWs) in rural Kenema District, Sierra Leone.
Objective
CHW programmes provide basic health services to fill gaps in human health resources. The authors compared trends in the reporting and management of childhood malaria, diarrhoea and pneumonia by CHWs before, during and after the Ebola outbreak (2014–2016)
Conclusion
The CHW programme demonstrated vulnerability, but also resilience, during and in the early period after the Ebola outbreak. Investment in CHWs is required to strengthen the health care system, as they can cover pre-existing gaps in facility-based health care and those created by outbreaks.
This research was supported by the UK Department for International Development’s Operational Research Capacity Building Programme led by the International Union Against TB and Lung Disease (The Union)
Citation
Vandi MA, van Griensven J, Chan AK, Kargbo B, Kandeh JN, Alpha KS, Sheriff AA, Momoh KSB, Gamanga A, Najjemba R, Mishra S. Ebola and community health worker services in Kenema District, Sierra Leone: please mind the gap! Public Health Action. 2017;7(1):55–61.
Links
Ebola and community health worker services in Kenema District, Sierra Leone: please mind the gap!