Running a chw baseline survey in the most remote corner of Liberia

It is becoming increasingly clear that villages that are remote and hard-to-reach are the final frontier of global health. These so-called ‘last mile' villages are precisely where the fight for the ranking goals of child and maternal health and control of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria are most likely to fail. Nowhere is the rural health crisis worse than in the poorest war-torn nation on earth – Liberia. Tiyatien Health (TH) is a local NGO dedicated to bringing quality healthcare services to the most remote populations of Liberia through an innovative Frontline Health Worker program.

In August of 2012, TH conducted a baseline survey of Konobo, a remote district of Liberia with minimal transportation infrastructure, outdated population data, no accurate maps, and a non-written primary language. The survey, which was conducted by a team of FHWs, was designed to assess barriers to utilization of existing healthcare services, and collect data on baseline levels of various indicators of maternal health, child health, and family planning. The results of the survey were used to help to guide TH in planning the most effective and appropriate interventions at the clinic level and at the community level, and allowed TH to strategically prioritize interventions and select target populations. The baseline survey also served to provide a foundation for ultimately assessing and demonstrating the impact of TH's FHW program.

The objective of this presentation is to describe how a specially-designed quantitative survey tool can benefit the planning, effectiveness, and sustainability of a community health worker program.