Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42344025›Full record

ArticleBMJ public health2026

What does resilience and well-being mean to community health workers? An exploratory study in the upper east region, Ghana.

James Kotuah Sakeah, David Addiss, Cindy Xin Feng, Evelyn Sakeah, Prosper Asaana, Margaret Gyapong, Ian Colman, Alison Krentel

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

James Kotuah SakeahSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9583-9690
David AddissFACE, The Task Force for Global Health, Decatur, Georgia, USA.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5949-7475
Cindy Xin FengDepartment of Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4030-7413
Evelyn SakeahUniversity of Technology and Applied Sciences, Navrongo, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4198-1047
Prosper AsaanaUniversity of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6649-3119
Margaret GyapongCentre for Health Policy and Implementation Research, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4818-3497
Ian ColmanSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5924-0277
Alison KrentelSchool of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7213-1577

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Introduction: Community Health Workers (CHWs) are critical in achieving universal health coverage, particularly in resource-constrained settings where they often work under demanding social, structural, and health system conditions. However, CHWs' experiences of resilience and well-being in their social and work contexts have received limited attention. Considering the critical role CHWs play in sustaining primary healthcare and understanding their resilience and well-being is vital to workforce sustainability and health system performance. This study explores how CHWs in the Upper East Region of Ghana understand and experience resilience and well-being to gain insight into the multidimensional and culturally grounded nature of these constructs. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted in two districts in the Upper East Region, Ghana using a phenomenological approach. The analysis therefore centres on CHWs' own accounts and interpretations of resilience and well-being as situated within their work and sociocultural contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 CHWs, selected to ensure diversity in gender, experience and geographical location. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to capture lived experiences and their underlying meanings. Results: CHWs accounts suggest that resilience is a dynamic process involving cognitive and adaptive strategies, emotional regulation, communal solidarity and spiritual coping mechanisms. They described resilience as shaped by the interplay of individual agency, social support systems and cultural beliefs. Well-being was described as holistic, considering environmental, financial, mental, emotional, physical, social and spiritual aspects, emphasising the interconnectedness of multiple dimensions. While both female and male CHWs described resilience across all dimensions, their coping strategies revealed subtle but important nuances. Conclusion: Resilience and well-being as described by CHWs in Ghana are complex and dynamic experiences shaped by contextual processes. Efforts to understand and support CHWs' resilience and well-being must reflect this complexity, highlighting the relational, communal and spiritual dimensions in addition to individual capacities. Culturally and gender-sensitive, context-responsive strategies are essential for informing policies and practices that promote CHW resilience and well-being, as well as support the sustainability of community health systems.

Indexed as

Community HealthCommunity Health PlanningHealth PersonnelHealth Services AccessibilityPublic Health

Identifiers

PMID42344025
PMCPMC13289323

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
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.