With the radio blaring, can information from community-health-worker home talks be heard? Evaluation of a COVID-19 home-talk programme in Kisoro, Uganda

Chaudhuri, Shombit; Addepalli, Aravind; Musominali, Sam; Mulongo, I.; Uragiwe, Valence; Modesta, Annie; Chaw, Gloria Fung; Paccione, Gerald A.

doi:10.1016/s2214-109x(21)00136-4

“…A international review of CHWs in pandemics concludes that, if adequately resourced, CHWs are critical in mitigating harm, and can help maintain essential services [ 57 ]. There are limited empirical data on CHWs’ impact on community engagement with health services and public health activities, although a Ugandan study showed participants valued CHWs’ COVID-19 home talks more than information on the radio [ 42 ]. This illustrates the value of two-way peer-led conversations in the pandemic response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating a peer-to-peer health education program in Australian public housing communities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Oliver,

Ferdinand,

Hussein

et al. 2024

BMC Health Serv Res

0

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Background The cohealth Health Concierge program operated in Melbourne, Australia from July 2020 to 30 June 2022. It provided peer-to-peer support to culturally and linguistically diverse residents of high-rise public housing. During this time, the COVID-19 public health response changed frequently and included movement restriction, testing and vaccination. We conducted a mixed-methods evaluation to determine the Health Concierge program’s impact on residents’ engagement with health services and public health activities. Methods The evaluation, informed by a Project Reference Group, used the RE-AIM framework. We analysed data from 20,901 routinely collected forms describing interactions between Concierges and residents from August 2021 to May 2022. Additional evaluation-specific data were collected between March and May 2022 in four housing estates; we surveyed 301 residents and conducted 32 interviews with residents, Concierges and program stakeholders. Results Concierges promoted COVID-safe behaviours; linked residents with support, testing and vaccination services; and disseminated up-to-date information. Of the 20,901 recorded interactions, 8,872 (42%) included Concierges providing support around COVID-19 vaccination. Most surveyed residents (191/301, 63%) reported speaking with a Concierge in the previous six months. The self-reported two-dose COVID-19 vaccine uptake was 94% (283/301). Some residents described having meaningful, appreciated conversations with Concierges, and some described superficial interactions. While residents initially welcomed the program, many felt it failed to evolve. Poorly defined management and hiring criteria led to variable program implementation. A need for bicultural workers to continue linking residents with services was discussed. Conclusions Concierges’ impact on residents may have contributed to high community uptake of COVID-19 testing and vaccination, and had benefits beyond the COVID-19 remit. We recommend the program be revised and continued to inform further preparedness planning and support service access generally. Program models such as this have potential to inform and reassure high-risk communities during a pandemic. In addition, such programs can help overcome vaccine hesitancy and promote protective health behaviours, regardless of whether a pandemic is currently occurring. Ensuring these programs remain responsive to the changing needs of end-users needs over time is imperative.

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“…This included pre-and post-intervention data on selected outcomes. (10) All other articles were commentaries, (11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) including one narrative review(26) and two opinion pieces. (23,27) Ten articles were published in scienti c journals, (10,15,16,(21)(22)(23)(24)(26)(27)(28) eight were news articles.…”

Section: Figure 1 Application Of Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria To ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pre-existing CHW programs mobilised rapidly in the pandemic response, in some cases following only one or two days of CHW training. (10,13,(23)(24)(25)(26)(27) Having a thorough knowledge of community needs enabled CHWs to provide a responsive service. In the Navajo Nation, CHWs were able to quickly identify the most vulnerable and underserved to ensure resources made it to families with the highest need.…”

Section: Responsive Service Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(23) It is possible that having the ability to discuss COVID-19 and ask CHWs questions during education sessions made community members more receptive to their health messages. (10,15,25) Partnerships with service providers Community health organisations and CHWs partnered with local public health authorities, clinical service providers and laboratories to co-ordinate the COVID-19 response. CHWs were able to link their community with the partnering organisations/service providers.…”

Section: Responsive Service Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We observed a lack of empirical evidence of CHWs' e cacy during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the exception of one study which demonstrated that information from COVID-19 home talks with a CHW was more effectively retained and valued more highly than information heard via the radio. (10)…”

Section: Chws' Impact On Community Covid-19 Vaccine Uptakementioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Community health workers’ dissemination of COVID-19 information and services in the early pandemic response: A narrative review

Oliver,

Ferdinand,

Kaufman

et al. 2023

Preprint

0

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Background Community health workers (CHWs) had important roles mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in vulnerable communities. We described how CHWs supported the dissemination of COVID-19 information and services during the early pandemic response. Methods Online article searches were conducted across five scientific databases, with review article reference lists hand searched to identify grey/unpublished literature. Articles were included if they reported on a program that engaged CHWs and aimed to prevent/control COVID-19. Results Nineteen relevant programs were identified from 18 included articles. CHWs were widely engaged in the pandemic response, especially in low- and middle-income countries and in vulnerable communities. CHWs’ ability to effectively disseminate COVID-19 information/services was enabled by community trust and understanding community needs. CHWs were often underfunded and required to work in difficult conditions. Pre-existing services incorporating CHWs rapidly adapted to the new challenges brought by the pandemic. Conclusions We recommend establishing programs that employ CHWs to disseminate health information and services in communities at-risk of misinformation and poor health outcomes during non-pandemic times. CHWs are well-placed to deliver interventions should an infectious disease outbreak arise. Having pre-existing trusted relationships between CHWs and community members may help protect vulnerable groups, including when outbreaks occur.

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Community health workers’ dissemination of COVID-19 information and services in the early pandemic response: a systematic review

Oliver,

Ferdinand,

Kaufman

et al. 2024

BMC Health Serv Res

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Community health workers (CHWs) had important roles mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in vulnerable communities. We described how CHWs supported the dissemination of COVID-19 information and services during the early pandemic response. Methods Online article searches were conducted across five scientific databases, with review article reference lists hand searched to identify grey/unpublished literature. Articles were included if they reported on a program that engaged CHWs and aimed to prevent/control COVID-19. Results Nineteen relevant programs were identified from 18 included articles. CHWs were widely engaged in the pandemic response, especially in low- and middle-income countries and in vulnerable communities. CHWs’ ability to effectively disseminate COVID-19 information/services was enabled by community trust and understanding community needs. CHWs were often underfunded and required to work in difficult conditions. Pre-existing services incorporating CHWs rapidly adapted to the new challenges brought by the pandemic. Conclusions We recommend establishing programs that employ CHWs to disseminate health information and services in communities at-risk of misinformation and poor health outcomes during non-pandemic times. CHWs are well-placed to deliver interventions should an infectious disease outbreak arise. Having pre-existing trusted relationships between CHWs and community members may help protect vulnerable groups, including when outbreaks occur.

show abstract

With the radio blaring, can information from community-health-worker home talks be heard? Evaluation of a COVID-19 home-talk programme in Kisoro, Uganda

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Evaluating a peer-to-peer health education program in Australian public housing communities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Evaluating a peer-to-peer health education program in Australian public housing communities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Community health workers’ dissemination of COVID-19 information and services in the early pandemic response: A narrative review

Community health workers’ dissemination of COVID-19 information and services in the early pandemic response: a systematic review

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