142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

316001
Evaluating the Effectiveness of CHW Task-Sharing in Rural Kenya

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014 : 2:50 PM - 3:10 PM

Jennifer Snell, MPH , Health Right, New York, NY
Rural Kenya faces limited coverage with effective maternal and neonatal care (MNC). CHW task sharing has been proposed as one solution and has been documented to achieve results in expanding coverage, but questions remain around quality at scale. HealthRight’s OR study in Marakwet partners with the local and county MOH and evaluates the feasibility and effects of sharing a MNC package with CHWs at facilities and communities. The expanded CHW scope includes shared services like distribution of oral and injectable contraception, cord care, management of low birth weight babies, and diagnosis/referral of neonatal sepsis. The primary research question is whether task sharing CHWs can maintain service quality. In the first 18 months, all baseline data was collected and training was completed for the CHWs and supervisors. Each facility has drafted a SOW outlining the CHW role in facilities, including the shared MNC services. The task sharing activities begin in September.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe a proposed package of shared tasks for CHWs being tested in Kenya. Identify lessons learned in preparing for task sharing (training, coordination with facilities and supervisors).

Keyword(s): Community Health Workers and Promoters, Community-Based Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a public health professional with over 17 years of experience implementing health programs in eight countries. For the past seven years, I have been focusing on maternal and neonatal health programs in rural communities in Kenya.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.