Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27586458›Full record

Trial reportBMC health services research2016

A time-use study of community health worker service activities in three rural districts of Tanzania (Rufiji, Ulanga and Kilombero).

Kassimu Tani, Allison Stone, Amon Exavery, Mustafa Njozi, Colin D Baynes, James F Phillips, Almamy Malick Kanté

Open access · goldAbstract readMulticenter StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC health services research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
3.9field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Kassimu TaniIfakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. ktani@ihi.or.tz.
Allison StoneHeilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.
Amon ExaveryIfakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Mustafa NjoziIfakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Colin D BaynesHeilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.
James F PhillipsHeilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, USA.
Almamy Malick KantéIfakara Health Institute, P.O. Box 78373, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Ifakara Health Institute · TZColumbia University · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite expanding international commitment to community health worker (CHW) deployment, little is known about how such workers actually use their time. This paper investigates this issue for paid CHWs named "Community Health Agents," which in Swahili is "Wawezeshaji wa Afya ya Jamii" ("WAJA"), trained for 9 months in primary health care service delivery and deployed to villages as subjects of a randomized trial of their impact on childhood survival in three rural districts of Tanzania.

methodsTo capture information about time allocation, 30 WAJA were observed during conventional working hours by research assistants for 5 days each over a period of 4 weeks. Results were presented in term of percentage time allocation for direct client treatment, documentation activities, health education, health promotion non-work-related activities and personal activities.

resultsDuring routine 8-h workdays, 59.5 % of WAJA time was spent on the provision of health services and other work-related activities. Overall, WAJA spent 27.8 % of their work on traveling from home to home, 33.1 % on health education, 9.9 % of health promotion and only 12.3 % on direct patient care. Other activities related to documentation (7.8 %) and supervision (2.5 %).

conclusionsResults reflect the pressing obligations of WAJA to engage in activities other than direct work responsibilities during routine work hours. Time spent on work activities is primarily used for health education, promotion, moving between households, and direct patient care. However, greater effort should be directed to strengthening supervisory systems and follow-up of challenges WAJAs facing in order to increase proportion of working hours.

Indexed as

AdultCommunity Health ServicesCommunity Health WorkersDelivery of Health CareFemaleHealth EducationHealth PromotionHumansInservice TrainingMaleProfessional PracticeRural HealthTanzaniaWorkloadCommunity health workerConnect projectTanzaniaTime use

Identifiers

PMID27586458
PMCPMC5009607
OpenAlexW2512598018

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.