ReviewMaternal & child nutrition2019
Can community health workers manage uncomplicated severe acute malnutrition? A review of operational experiences in delivering severe acute malnutrition treatment through community health platforms.
Review in Maternal & child nutrition, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 49 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
49 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Lay health workers in primary and community health care for maternal and child health: identification and treatment of wasting in children.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness of decentralising acute malnutrition treatment with a standard or simplified treatment protocol: an economic evaluation in the region of Gao, Mali.BMC public health · 2025Trial
- The impacts of task shifting on the management and treatment of malnourished children in Northern Kenya: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.Health policy and planning · 2024Trial
- Effectiveness of decentralizing outpatient acute malnutrition treatment with community health workers and a simplified combined protocol: a cluster randomized controlled trial in emergency settings of Mali.Frontiers in public health · 2024Trial
- Impact of Integration of Severe Acute Malnutrition Treatment in Primary Health Care Provided by Community Health Workers in Rural Niger.Nutrients · 2021Trial
- Formative research on a post-discharge monitoring program using SQ-LNS to reduce acute malnutrition relapse risk in Mali : a qualitative study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Reducing relapses after acute malnutrition treatment: evidence from a simplified approach in emergency settings of Mali.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Process evaluation of enhanced community health system activities to improve detection and management of acute malnutrition in Samburu County, Kenya.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Adopting a Comprehensive Approach to Improve Nutritional Status among Critically Ill Children in Low-Resource Settings: A Narrative Review.International journal of preventive medicine · 2026Review
- Factors that influence acute malnutrition detection and treatment by community health promoters in Samburu and Turkana counties, Kenya: A mixed methods study.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Assessing the gap between policy and practice: community health workers' contributions to nutrition services in Sub-Saharan Africa.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Healthcare providers' implementation of severe acute malnutrition guidelines and the factors associated with it among healthcare providers working at public health facilities of South Wollo Zone, Northeast Ethiopia, in 2024.Health research policy and systems · 2025Article
- Readiness to deliver quality curative care for under-five children at health posts in Ethiopia.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Article
- Treatment of moderate acute malnutrition through community health volunteers is a cost-effective intervention: Evidence from a resource-limited setting.Maternal & child nutrition · 2024Article
- Article
- Facilitators and barriers to implementing complex community-based interventions for addressing acute malnutrition in low- and lower-middle income countries: A scoping review.Nutrition and health · 2024Article
- Integration of Acute Malnutrition Treatment Into Integrated Community Case Management in Three Districts in Southern Mali: An Economic Evaluation.Global health, science and practice · 2024Article
- A Systems Approach in the Prevention of Undernutrition among Children under Five in Tanzania: Perspectives from Key Stakeholders.Nutrients · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Community health workers (CHWs) play an important role in the detection and referral of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in many countries. However, distance to health facilities remains a significant obstacle for caregivers to attend treatment services, resulting in SAM treatment coverage rates below 40% in most areas of intervention. The inclusion of SAM treatment into the current curative tasks of CHWs has been proposed as an approach to increase coverage. A literature review of operational experiences was conducted to identify opportunities and challenges associated with this model. A total of 18 studies providing evidence on coverage, clinical outcomes, quality of care, and/or cost-effectiveness were identified. The studies demonstrate that CHWs can identify and treat uncomplicated cases of SAM, achieving cure rates above the minimum standards and reducing default rates to less than 8%. Although the evidence is limited, these findings suggest that early detection and treatment in the community can increase coverage of SAM in a cost-effective manner. Adequate training and close supervision were found to be essential to ensure high-quality performance of CHWs. Motivation through financial compensation and other incentives, which improve their social recognition, was also found to be an important factor contributing to high-quality performance. Another common challenge affecting performance is insufficient stock of key commodities (i.e., ready-to-use therapeutic food). The review of the evidence ultimately demonstrates that the successful delivery of SAM treatment via CHWs will require adaptations in nutrition and health policy and practice.
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