Community based para-social and health workers effectiveness in resource poor countries with a large vulnerable population

Background:  HIV/AIDS and internal displacement due to war or political instability have produced many vulnerable families and children. Many of these communities have limited or no resources to support these vulnerable families.    

Objective:   Investigate how community based para-social and health workers (CBSHW)could impact the psychosocial wellbeing and protection of vulnerable children receiving support services.   

Methods: This research study used data from a Côte d’Ivoire OVC End of Program evaluation study that compared children supported by CBSHW (n=512 ) to a group of  children without the CBSHW support (n=212).  This study only compared psychosocial wellbeing of identified vulnerable children in the two groups.           

Results:   The average age of children support by CBSHW was 10.8 years (SD=4.3) and 10.2 years (SD=4.2) for those without CBSHW support. Activities supported by CBSHW included encouraging the children to be part of psychosocial support groups (89%), sharing a meal (37%), or calling on them (60%). Many of the children had legal issues that arose from fighting or quarreling with adults, disputes, public insults, beating children, refusing to go to school, and getting a birth certificate issued. CBSHW were able to help about 96% of the children resolve them.     

Conclusions:   these activities encouraged trust them and acceptance. Communities should consider using community based para-social and health workers to support improve psychosocial wellbeing of vulnerable children and increase overall protection services.