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A shortage in human resources for health is a growing crisis that has led to an inability to provide adequate health services to impoverished populations. By "task-shifting", health systems can delegate certain activities, such as health promotion and referral, to trained community members to help fill the human resource gap. An effective community health agent program can improve maternal and child health and overall effectiveness of rural health systems. Such a program is most effective when the community health agents receive supervision and evaluation of their performance. There is a shortage of literature that provides instruction and example on how to conduct a performance evaluation in the developing world to improve maternal and child health outcomes. The current study provides a case study of a performance evaluation in the Amazon region of Peru and how the findings can be used to make program adjustments. A set of instruments to measure the performance of CHWs was adapted from the literature and then implemented in the field. The instruments were used to measure the quality of home visits by the CHWs, their knowledge of the health topics, and structural activities. Three communities with an active CHW program in Loreto, Peru were chosen to receive the evaluation. All CHWs in the communities were evaluated. The scores from the evaluation were compared internally to identify strengths and weaknesses of the program and within the population of CHWs. The evaluation was completed on 52 home visits and 27 CHWs in three communities. The CHWs were found to be most effective at creating good relationships with caregivers and delivering health messages, and least effective at interacting with the child during the home visit and using material to deliver health messages. The evaluation instruments were well suited for the CHW program that utilizes home visits to teach about child health and development.

Issues Preventable overdose deaths, especially due to opioids, have increasingly been reported worldwide. Expansion of life‐saving harm reduction services is underway with increasing public support in some jurisdictions. However, such services often fall short of reaching people who use drugs (PWUD), in part, due to law enforcement practices that are aligned with punitive drug laws and incongruent with harm reduction principles. One suggested strategy to facilitate police understanding and uptake of practices that are more congruent with harm reduction is to provide police with relevant training. Approach This scoping review synthesises English‐language peer‐reviewed and grey literature on harm reduction training programs for police. Key Findings We reviewed 31 sources and found that most trainings covered topics related to harm reduction objectives, overdose recognition and response, occupational safety and policing practices. Information was often presented via single‐session, 1‐hour long, slide‐assisted presentations that were integrated into in‐service trainings. Inconsistent throughout the literature was the career stage or position/rank of training audience (e.g. cadets, senior officers, street‐level officers), when and how much training should be provided, and the occupational background of the training facilitator. Implications The available literature contains significant gaps pertaining to descriptions of training development, design and content specific to facilitating positive police‐PWUD interactions, and formal evaluations. These gaps limit our understanding of what well‐designed trainings may look like, if and how training alters policing practices, and to what extent training completion may lead to improved outcomes. Conclusion Greater research and formal evaluations of harm reduction training for police is recommended.