Trial reportInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Community Health Workers as a Strategy to Tackle Psychosocial Suffering Due to Physical Distancing: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Trial report in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness of social prescribing in the management of long-term conditions in community-based adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitation · 2024Pooled it
- The effectiveness of psychological support interventions for those exposed to mass infectious disease outbreaks: a systematic review.BMC psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Reciprocal innovation to improve access to primary healthcare in Belgium: adaptation and development of a community health worker intervention.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Facilitating access to primary care for people living in socio-economically vulnerable circumstances in Belgium through community health workers: towards a conceptual model.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- Addressing health inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic through primary health care and public health collaboration: a multiple case study analysis in eight high-income countries.International journal for equity in health · 2023Article
- The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review.International journal for equity in health · 2023Article
- A time-motion study of community health workers delivering community-based primary health care in Neno District, Malawi.Human resources for health · 2023Article
- Local initiative supports case isolation and contact tracing during a SARS-CoV-2 surge in summer 2020: a community case study in Antwerp, Belgium.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Understanding Trustful Relationships between Community Health Workers and Vulnerable Citizens during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Realist Evaluation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, many primary care professionals were overburdened and experienced difficulties reaching vulnerable patients and meeting the increased need for psychosocial support. This randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested whether a primary healthcare (PHC) based community health worker (CHW) intervention could tackle psychosocial suffering due to physical distancing measures in patients with limited social networks.
methodsCHWs provided 8 weeks of tailored psychosocial support to the intervention group. Control group patients received 'care as usual'. The impact on feelings of emotional support, social isolation, social participation, anxiety and fear of COVID-19 were measured longitudinally using a face-to-face survey to determine their mean change from baseline. Self-rated change in psychosocial health at 8 weeks was determined.
resultsWe failed to find a significant effect of the intervention on the prespecified psychosocial health measures. However, the intervention did lead to significant improvement in self-rated change in psychosocial health.
conclusionsThis study confirms partially the existing evidence on the effectiveness of CHW interventions as a strategy to address mental health in PHC in a COVID context. Further research is needed to elaborate the implementation of CHWs in PHC to reach vulnerable populations during and after health crises.
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