ArticleBMJ global health2019
The supervisory relationships of community health workers in primary health care: social network analysis of ward-based outreach teams in Ngaka Modiri Molema District, South Africa.
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 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review of the types, workload, and supervision mechanism of community health workers: lessons learned for Indonesia.BMC primary care · 2024Pooled it
- Using online social networks to provide a parental health-education intervention for preventing unintentional injuries among children aged 0-3 years: A randomized controlled trial and social network analysis in Shanghai, China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Trial
- Multi-actor collaborations in primary health care implementation: a Social Network Analysis of the primary health care strategy in Ghana.Health policy and planning · 2026Article
- Practices and challenges of supervision and delegation in nursing in Africa: a scoping review.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- Halting and re-issuing of the Zambia community health strategy (2017-2021): a retrospective analysis of the policy process and implications for community health systems.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Participatory Health Cadre Model to Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding Coverage with King's Conceptual System.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Role of actor networks in primary health care implementation in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.Global health action · 2023Article
- Network approaches and interventions in healthcare settings: A systematic scoping review.PloS one · 2023Article
- Digital Health-Enabled Community-Centered Care: Scalable Model to Empower Future Community Health Workers Using Human-in-the-Loop Artificial Intelligence.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Article
- The Multiple Lenses on the Community Health System: Implications for Policy, Practice and Research.International journal of health policy and management · 2022Article
- Factors Associated With Workplace and Interpersonal Trust in the Supervisory System of a Community Health Worker Programme in a Rural South African District.International journal of health policy and management · 2022Article
- Community health workers at the dawn of a new era: 7. Recent advances in supervision.Health research policy and systems · 2021Review
- Developing a district level supportive supervision framework for community health workers through co-production in South Africa.BMC health services research · 2021Article
- Article
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2 authors.
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Abstract
introductionSupportive supervision remains a key challenge to the sustainability of community health worker (CHW) programmes globally. The aim of the study was to identify critical actors and patterns of relationships in the supervision of ward-based outreach teams (WBOT) in a rural South African district.
methodsA cross-sectional study of social and professional relationships of WBOTs with other primary health care (PHC) system actors was conducted using a social network analysis (SNA) approach. A structured questionnaire was distributed to CHWs (37), WBOT team leaders (3), PHC facility managers (5) and PHC local area managers (2) (total n=47) assessing interaction patterns of supportive supervision, namely management, development and support.
resultsThe supportive supervision system pivoted around team leaders, who were nurse cadres and who ensured internal cohesion and support among WBOT members. The network patterns also showed the extent of peer support between CHWs in WBOTs. PHC facility staff and middle managers in the subdistrict did not appear to play active roles in the supervision of CHWs and their team leaders. However, there were exceptions, with WBOTs drawing on sympathetic cadres identified among the PHC facility staff for support.
conclusionSupportive supervision of CHWs can be thought of as a system of horizontal and vertical relationships that go beyond just one supervisor-supervisee interaction. In this study, supervisory relationships within teams functioned better than those between teams and the rest of the PHC system. Understanding these relationships is key to designing effective supportive supervision in CHW programmes. SNA can be a valuable approach in identifying the relationships to be strengthened.
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