ArticleBMC health services research2019
"We come as friends": approaches to social accountability by health committees in Northern Malawi.
Article in BMC health services research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effects of decentralization on the functionality of health facility governing committees in lower and middle-income countries: a systematic literature review.Global health action · 2022Pooled it
- Using Open Public Meetings and Elections to Promote Inward Transparency and Accountability: Lessons From Zambia.International journal of health policy and management · 2022Trial
- Inclusiveness of social participation for health reform: findings from a realist review.International journal for equity in health · 2026Review
- Co-creating a decision-making framework for primary healthcare models in conflict-affected Cameroon and Nigeria.BMJ global health · 2026Observational
- "I Don't Want to Read About It; I Want to Do It": Perspectives onAdvances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
- Prehabilitation Program for Lung and Esophageal Cancers (Boosting Recovery and Activity Through Early Wellness): Protocol for a Nonrandomized Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- Unsung heroes in Ghana's healthcare system: the case of community health volunteers and community health management committee.Health research policy and systems · 2024Article
- Assessment of infrastructure, behaviours, and user satisfaction of guardian waiting shelters for secondary level hospitals in southern Malawi.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- A qualitative exploration of how a community engagement approach influences community and health worker perceptions related to family planning service delivery in Togo.Frontiers in reproductive health · 2024Article
- Social Accountability in Health System Governance: A Scoping Review.Iranian journal of public health · 2024Article
- Facilitators for and Barriers to the Implementation of Performance Accountability Mechanisms for Quality Improvement in the Delivery of Maternal Health Services in a District Hospital in Pwani Region, Tanzania.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- The functionality of health facility governing committees and their associated factors in selected primary health facilities implementing direct health facility financing in Tanzania: A mixed-method study.Health science reports · 2022Article
- Health workforce governance for compassionate and respectful care: a framework for research, policy and practice.BMJ global health · 2022Article
- Participation in primary health care through community-level health committees in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative synthesis.BMC public health · 2022Review
- Article
- Social accountability in primary health care facilities in Tanzania: Results from Star Rating Assessment.PloS one · 2022Article
- The functionality variation among health facility governing committees under direct health facility financing in Tanzania.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
- Assessing Facilitators and Barriers to Referral of Children Under the Age of Five Years at Ndirande Health Centre in Blantyre, Malawi.Global pediatric health · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIn Malawi, as in many low-and middle-income countries, health facility committees (HFCs) are involved in the governance of health services. Little is known about the approaches they use and the challenges they face. This study explores how HFCs monitor the quality of health services and how they demand accountability of health workers for their performance.
methodsDocumentary analysis and key informant interviews (7) were complemented by interviews with purposefully selected HFC members (22) and health workers (40) regarding their experiences with HFCs. Data analysis was guided by a coding scheme informed by social accountability concepts complemented by inductive analysis to identify participants' perceptions and meanings of processes of social accountability facilitated by HFCs.
resultsThe results suggest that HFCs address poor health worker performance (such as absenteeism, poor treatments and informal payments), and report severe misconduct to health authorities. The informal and constructive approach that most HFCs use is shaped by formal definitions and common expectations of the role of HFCs in service delivery as well as resource constraints. The primary function of social accountability through HFCs appears to be co-production: the management of social relations around the health facility and the promotion of a minimum level of access and quality of services.
conclusionsPolicymakers and HFC support programs should take into account the broad task description of HFCs and integrate social accountability approaches in existing quality of care programs. The study also underscores the need to clarify accountability arrangements and linkages with upward accountability approaches in the system.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.