ArticleBMC public health2018
Exploring the care provided to mothers and children by community health workers in South Africa: missed opportunities to provide comprehensive care.
Article in BMC public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 30 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
30 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 48 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors Influencing Community Members' Perception of Primary Health Care Services Delivered by Community Health Workers in Rural Areas: A Systematic Review.The Australian journal of rural health · 2026Pooled it
- Contribution of women's development army to maternal and child health in Ethiopia: a systematic review of evidence.BMJ open · 2019Pooled it
- Relationship of perinatal outcomes to the competence and quantity of contact with community health workers.Journal of global health · 2025Trial
- The effect of supervision on community health workers' effectiveness with households in rural South Africa: A cluster randomized controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2023Trial
- Community-based follow-up of very low birth weight neonates discharged from a regional hospital in Cape Town: a descriptive study.Global health action · 2025Article
- Barriers and enablers to postnatal care utilization in the Oshana region of Namibia: A qualitative study.European journal of obstetrics & gynecology and reproductive biology: X · 2025Article
- Community caregivers' perceptions: Family-centred postnatal care in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Nurse-community health mediator pairs: a promising model for promoting the health of populations in remote areas of the French Amazon.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Improving Community Health Program: Perspective of Community Health Workers in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.Risk management and healthcare policy · 2025Article
- Home visits for preterm/low birthweight infants in South Africa: Qualitative evidence synthesis.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2024Article
- From the periphery to inclusion within the health system: promoting community health worker empowerment as a way forward.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- A call for linguistic and culturally congruent family-centred early hearing detection and intervention programmes in South Africa.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings · 2024Article
- Methods and Measures to Assess Health Care Provider Behavior and Behavioral Determinants in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health: A Rapid Review.Global health, science and practice · 2023Review
- Community-orientated primary health care: Exploring the interface between community health worker programmes, the health system and communities in South Africa.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Measures to assess quality of postnatal care: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
- Community-based counselling programme for pregnant women with alcohol problems in Cape Town, South Africa: a qualitative study of the views of pregnant women and healthcare professionals.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Are we listening to community health workers? Experiences of the community health worker journey in rural South Africa.Research in nursing & health · 2022Article
- Infection preparedness of community health workers: implications for maternal and neonatal health services in Pakistan.Primary health care research & development · 2022Article
- Article
- Baby Steps: Using Intervention Mapping to Develop a Sustainable Perinatal Physical Activity Healthcare Intervention.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCommunity health workers (CHWs) provide maternal and child health services to communities in many low and middle-income countries, including South Africa (SA). CHWs can improve access to important health interventions for isolated and vulnerable communities. In this study we explored the performance of CHWs providing maternal and child health services at household level and the quality of the CHW-mother interaction.
methodsA qualitative study design was employed using observations and in-depth interviews to explore the content of household interactions, and experiences and perceptions of mothers and CHWs. Fifteen CHWs and 30 mothers/pregnant women were purposively selected in three rural districts of KwaZulu-Natal, SA. CHW household visits to mothers were observed and field notes taken, followed by in-depth interviews with mothers and CHWs. Observations and interviews were audio-recorded. We performed thematic analysis on transcribed discussions, and content analysis on observational data.
resultsCHWs provided appropriate and correct health information but there were important gaps in the content provided. Mothers expressed satisfaction with CHW visits and appreciation that CHWs understood their life experiences and therefore provided advice and support that was relevant and accessible. CHWs expressed concern that they did not have the knowledge required to undertake all activities in the household, and requested training and support from supervisors during household visits.
conclusionsKey building blocks for a successful CHW programme are in place to provide services for mothers and children in households but further training and supervision is required if the gaps in CHW knowledge and skills are to be filled.
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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.