ArticleBMJ global health2019
The roles of community health workers who provide maternal and newborn health services: case studies from Africa and Asia.
Article in BMJ global health, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 72 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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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
72 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Effectiveness of Nursing Interventions in Reducing Maternal Mortality in Resource-Limited Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Investigacion y educacion en enfermeria · 2025Pooled it
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of proactive home visits compared with site-based community health worker care on antenatal care outcomes in Mali: a cluster-randomised trial.BMJ global health · 2024Trial
- The role of a community health worker-delivered preconception and pregnancy intervention in achieving a more positive pregnancy experience: the Bukhali trial in Soweto, South Africa.BMC women's health · 2024Trial
- Effect of community health worker home visits on antenatal care and institutional delivery: an analysis of secondary outcomes from a cluster randomised trial in Mali.BMJ global health · 2023Trial
- Trial
- Challenges of home visit practice and perceived solutions for improvement in Ghanaian context: perspectives of healthcare professional and community informants.Health research policy and systems · 2026Article
- The introduction of group antenatal care in northern Nigeria: an implementation research study analysing changes in service use.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Changes in the use of basic obstetric care in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from demographic and health surveys using an Oaxaca-Blinder approach.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Barriers and facilitators in utilisation of dental health services across low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Evidence-based dentistry · 2026Article
- Factors influencing selection of models of primary health care delivery in conflict-affected settings: analysis of surveys from humanitarian organizations in Cameroon and Nigeria.BMC health services research · 2026Observational
- Advancing gender equity in primary health care: Lessons from integrating gender-responsive strategies into service delivery in Ethiopia.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Implementation fidelity of Ethiopia's Malaria test-and-treat guideline amid a resurgence in Amhara Region: A mixed-methods study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Effectiveness of education programme to increase competency of health cadres in Indonesia: a cluster non-randomised controlled trial.BMJ open · 2025Article
- The key role of Community Health Workers in the use of maternal services in rural settings: a Qualitative Study.Revista peruana de medicina experimental y salud publica · 2025Article
- Challenges in delivering urban healthcare services during COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study in Ahmedabad, India.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Costs and cost-effectiveness of integrated horizontal community health worker programmes in low- and middle-income countries (2015-2024): a scoping literature review.BMJ global health · 2025Article
- Factors influencing work performance and prospective mobile health applications among village health support groups: a formative study for i-MoMCARE development to enhance maternal, newborn, and child healthcare in Cambodia.Human resources for health · 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
- Understanding women's care experiences in public health facilities in a conflict-affected area of Nigeria.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Article
12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionA variety of community health workers (CHWs) provide maternal and newborn health (MNH) services in low-income and middle-income settings. However, there is a need for a better understanding of the diversity in type of CHW in each setting and responsibility, role, training duration and type of remuneration.
methodsWe identified CHWs providing MNH services in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria by reviewing 23 policy documents and conducting 36 focus group discussions and 131 key informant interviews. We analysed the data using thematic analysis.
resultsIrrespective of training duration (8 days to 3 years), all CHWs identify pregnant women, provide health education and screen for health conditions that require a referral to a higher level of care. Therapeutic care, antenatal care and skilled birth attendance, and provision of long-acting reversible contraceptives are within the exclusive remit of CHWs with training greater than 3 months. In contrast, community mobilisation and patient tracking are often done by CHWs with training shorter than 3 months. Challenges CHWs face include pressure to provide MNH services beyond their scope of practice during emergencies, and a tendency in some settings to focus CHWs on facility-based roles at the expense of their traditional community-based roles.
conclusionCHWs are well positioned geographically and socially to deliver some aspects of MNH care. However, there is a need to review and revise their scope of practice to reflect the varied duration of training and in-country legislation.
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