The effectiveness of perinatal home visits by community health workers (CHWs) often diminishes when large regional or national programmes are implemented. To address this gap, the authors aimed to identify which CHW behaviours influence maternal and child outcomes. Findings suggest that the current standards for training and monitoring of paraprofessional home visitors are highly unrealistic. Substantial and ongoing investments are needed for visits to occur consistently over time. However, hiring and selection criteria are likely as important as training and monitoring. CHW programmes must be embedded in organisational contexts that are well functioning and have management and support structures that are operational to ensure their success.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40019153/

References

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  2. Chowdhary N, Sikander S, Atif N, Singh N, Ahmad I, Fuhr DC, et al. The content and delivery of psychological interventions for perinatal depression by non-specialist health workers in low and middle income countries: a systematic review. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2014;28:113–33.

  3. World Health Organization. Community Health Worker Programmes in the WHO African Region: Evidence and Options — Policy brief. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2017.

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