Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39913354›Full record

ReviewPLOS global public health2025

Comparing apples with apples: A proposed taxonomy for "Community Health Workers" and other front-line health workers for international comparisons.

Stephen Hodgins, Uta Lehmann, Henry Perry, Nicholas Leydon, Kerry Scott, Smisha Agarwal, Hannah Marcus, Rajani Ved, Elijah Olivas, Madeleine Ballard and 23 more

Erratum issuedAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in PLOS global public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

33 authors.

Stephen HodginsSchool of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8365-3311
Uta LehmannSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Henry PerrySchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0561-0492
Nicholas LeydonSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1997-7857
Kerry ScottSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Smisha AgarwalSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Hannah MarcusSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4756-6429
Rajani VedSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Elijah OlivasSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Madeleine BallardSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0107-4047
Dickson MbeweSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Margaret OderaSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Sherlie Petit HommeSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Benard OtienoSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Pasipano WuteteSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Angeline ChikumbaSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Prossy MuyingoSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
John KyakuhaSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Emmanuel HarcourtSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6944-2979
Morseda ChowdhurySchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
David MusokeSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3262-3918
Thadee NiyoyitungiraSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Abimbola OlaniranSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
John Koku-Awoonor WilliamsSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1094-8212
Lívia Milena Barbosa de Deus E MélloSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Romário Correia Dos SantosSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Isabela Cardoso de Matos PintoSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Ram ShresthaSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1816-5160
Salim SadruddinSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Melanie MorrowSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3710-0613
Eric SarriotSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
Maryse KokSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0889-8663
Bhanu PratapSchool of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4261-8588

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This paper proposes a taxonomy for Community Health Workers (CHWs) and others engaged in front-line community health activities, encompassing formally-employed workers extending government primary health care (PHC) service delivery as well as a range of other actors with roles at the nexus of government PHC and communities. The taxonomy is grounded in current definitions from the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization, and proposes some refinements for future iterations of guidance from these agencies. The designation, "Community Health Worker" is currently used to cover a broad range of roles. Furthermore, there are programs engaging workers or community members in roles closely adjacent to those generally recognized as CHWs that use other designations, not commonly included under the rubric of "CHW". This potentially confusing range of roles and nomenclature leads at times to over-generalizations, applying insights and principles relevant for one type of worker or community member that are not necessarily relevant for another. It also leads to a failure to consider occupational groups not commonly thought of as CHWs-but engaged in PHC service delivery at the most peripheral level-in community-based-PHC planning and management arrangements. Building on ILO and WHO classifications and standards, a further clarification of terms and a taxonomy is proposed, with the intention of contributing to clearer communication and shared understanding and, ultimately, sounder community health policy, program planning, and implementation; and more substantial progress towards Universal Health Coverage.

Identifiers

PMID39913354
PMCPMC11801544

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.