ArticlePloS one2018
Formative evaluation of a training intervention for community health workers in South Africa: A before and after study.
Article in PloS one, 2018. 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.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 29 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evaluation of global health capacity building initiatives in low-and middle-income countries: A systematic review.Journal of global health · 2020Pooled it
- Optimised electronic patient records to improve clinical monitoring of people living with HIV (MONART trial) intervention: a qualitative process evaluation.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Structured Education Improves Radiographic Detection and Referral in Charcot Foot: A Quasi-experimental Study.Foot & ankle orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Nurse training to enhance adherence counselling for HIV-tuberculosis coinfection in South Africa: Integrative review.Curationis · 2024Review
- Community-Based Mycetoma Surveillance in Uganda: Identifying Knowledge Gaps and Training of Community Health Workers to Improve Case Detection.PLoS neglected tropical diseases · 2024Article
- Factors associated with Community Health Agents' knowledge about tuberculosis.Revista brasileira de enfermagem · 2024Article
- Using the Socioecological Model to Explore Barriers to Health Care Provision in Underserved Communities in the Philippines: Qualitative Study.Asian/Pacific Island nursing journal · 2023Article
- Lung cancer awareness training experiences of community health workers in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2022Article
- Development of a community health workers perceptual and behavioral competency scale for preventing non-communicable diseases (COCS-N) in Japan.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Understanding mobile application development and implementation for monitoring Posyandu data in Indonesia: a 3-year hybrid action study to build "a bridge" from the community to the national scale.BMC public health · 2021Article
- What Is the Impact of a Context-Specific Training Program for Home-Based Carers? An Evaluation Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCommunity Health Workers (CHWs) have a crucial role in improving health in their communities and their role is being expanded in many parts of the world. However, the effectiveness of CHWs is limited by poor training and the education of CHWs has received little scientific attention.
methodsOur study was carried out in two districts of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We developed and piloted an inexpensive (two day) training intervention covering national government priorities: HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted disease and Tuberculosis; and Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. Sixty-four CHWs consented to participate in the main study which measured knowledge gains using a modified Solomon design of four different testing schedules to distinguish between the effects of the intervention, testing and any interaction between intervention and testing. We also measured confidence, satisfaction and costs.
resultsFollowing the training intervention, improvements in knowledge scores were seen across topics and across districts. These changes in knowledge were statistically significant (p<0.001) and of large magnitude (over 45 percentage points or four standard deviations). However, the CHWs assigned to the test-test-train schedule in one district showed high gains in knowledge prior to receiving the training. All CHWs reported high levels of satisfaction with the training and marked improvements in their confidence in advising clients. The training cost around US$48 per CHW per day and has the potential to be cost-effective if the large gains in knowledge are translated into improved field-based performance and thus health outcomes.
conclusionTraining CHWs can result in large improvements in knowledge with a short intervention. However, improvements seen in other studies could be due to test 'reactivity'. Further work is needed to measure the generalisability of our results, retention of knowledge and the extent to which improved knowledge is translated into improved practice.
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