TY - JOUR
T1 - Family health sheets
T2 - a vital instrument for village health workers providing comprehensive healthcare
AU - Alizadeh, Faraz
AU - Addepalli, Aravind
AU - Chaudhuri, Shombit R.
AU - Budongo, Annie Modesta
AU - Owembabazi, Immaculate
AU - Chaw, Gloria Fung
AU - Musominali, Sam
AU - Paccione, Gerald
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/12
Y1 - 2021/12
N2 - Introduction: Community Health Worker (CHW) programs have long been used to provide acute care for children and women in healthcare shortage areas, but their provision of comprehensive longitudinal care for chronic problems is rare. The Village Health Worker (VHW) program, initiated in 2007, is an example of a long standing “horizontal” CHW program in rural Southwestern Uganda that has delivered village-level care for chronic disease based on a biannual village health census that identifies individual and family health risks. To facilitate continuity of care for problems identified, health census data were electronically transformed into family-specific Family Health Sheets (FHS) in 2016 which summarize the pertinent demographic and health data for each family, as well as health topics the family would like to learn more about. The FHS, evaluated and discussed here, serves as an epidemiologically-informed “bedside” tool to help VHWs provide longitudinal care in their villages. Methods: 48 VHWs in the program completed a survey on the utility of the FHS and 24 VHWs participated in small discussion groups. Responses were analyzed using both quantitative and standard conceptual content analysis models Results: 46 out of 48 VHWs reported that the FHS made them a “much better VHW.” In addition to helping target interventions in child health, women’s health, and sanitation, the FHS assisted follow-up of non-communicable diseases in the community. In discussion groups, VHWs reported that the FHS helped them understand risks for future disease, facilitated earning stipends, and increased credibility and trust in the community. Limitations cited were the infrequent updates of the FHS, only biannually with the census, and the lack of cross-reference capability by health problem. Discussion: The FHS supports VHWs in providing longitudinal and comprehensive healthcare of chronic diseases in their villages. Limitations, potential solutions, and future directions are discussed.
AB - Introduction: Community Health Worker (CHW) programs have long been used to provide acute care for children and women in healthcare shortage areas, but their provision of comprehensive longitudinal care for chronic problems is rare. The Village Health Worker (VHW) program, initiated in 2007, is an example of a long standing “horizontal” CHW program in rural Southwestern Uganda that has delivered village-level care for chronic disease based on a biannual village health census that identifies individual and family health risks. To facilitate continuity of care for problems identified, health census data were electronically transformed into family-specific Family Health Sheets (FHS) in 2016 which summarize the pertinent demographic and health data for each family, as well as health topics the family would like to learn more about. The FHS, evaluated and discussed here, serves as an epidemiologically-informed “bedside” tool to help VHWs provide longitudinal care in their villages. Methods: 48 VHWs in the program completed a survey on the utility of the FHS and 24 VHWs participated in small discussion groups. Responses were analyzed using both quantitative and standard conceptual content analysis models Results: 46 out of 48 VHWs reported that the FHS made them a “much better VHW.” In addition to helping target interventions in child health, women’s health, and sanitation, the FHS assisted follow-up of non-communicable diseases in the community. In discussion groups, VHWs reported that the FHS helped them understand risks for future disease, facilitated earning stipends, and increased credibility and trust in the community. Limitations cited were the infrequent updates of the FHS, only biannually with the census, and the lack of cross-reference capability by health problem. Discussion: The FHS supports VHWs in providing longitudinal and comprehensive healthcare of chronic diseases in their villages. Limitations, potential solutions, and future directions are discussed.
KW - Child health, Woman’s health, sanitation
KW - Community health
KW - Community health workers
KW - Health census, healthcare workforce, task shifting
KW - Non-communicable diseases
KW - Village health workers
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U2 - 10.1186/s12913-021-07180-y
DO - 10.1186/s12913-021-07180-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 34674694
AN - SCOPUS:85117602013
SN - 1472-6963
VL - 21
JO - BMC Health Services Research
JF - BMC Health Services Research
IS - 1
M1 - 1138
ER -
