Designed for trainers of community health workers, these guidelines are intended to help them instruct, in a practical way, those workers in how to improve nutrition in their areas. The book is divided into nine modules, each concerned with a different aspect of the community health worker's training. Each module first sets forth the learning objectives, then describes the content of the training, and finally gives a number of exercises to test the trainee's learning. The book is illustrated with numerous line drawings and charts. Topics covered in the modules are (1) getting to know the community and its needs; (2) measuring and monitoring the growth and nutrition of children; (3) breast-feeding; (4) diets for young children; (5) nutrition of the mother; (6) identification, management, and prevention of common nutritional deficiencies; (7) diarrhea and nutrition; (8) nutrition and infection; and (9) nutrition and the community: getting started. An annex, "Training Hints," explains how to plan training, selection and use of teaching aids, choice of teaching methods, and how to collect information on the community. (YLB)
Foundations for Community Health Workers Foundations for Community Health Workers is a training resource for client- and community-centered public health practitioners, with an emphasis on promoting health equality. Based on City College of San Francisco's CHW Certificate Program, it begins with an overview of the historic and political context informing the practice of community health workers. The second section of the book addresses core competencies for working with individual clients, such as behavior change counseling and case management, and practitioner development topics such as ethics, stress management, and conflict resolution. The book's final section covers skills for practice at the group and community levels, such as conducting health outreach and facilitating community organizing and advocacy. Praise for Foundations for Community Health Workers "This book is the first of its kind: a manual of core competencies and curricula for training community health workers. Covering topics from health inequalities to patient-centered counseling, this book is a tremendous resource for both scholars of and practitioners in the field of community-based medicine. It also marks a great step forward in any setting, rich or poor, in which it is imperative to reduce health disparities and promote genuine health and well-being." Paul E. Farmer, MD., PhD, Maude and Lillian Presley Professor of Social Medicine in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; founding director, Partners In Health. "This book is based on the contributions of experienced CHWs and advocates of the field. I am confident that it will serve as an inspiration for many CHW training programs." Yvonne Lacey, CHW, former coordinator, Black Infant Health Program, City of Berkeley Health Department; former chair, CHW Special Interest Group for the APHA. "This book masterfully integrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities required of a CHW through storytelling and real life case examples. This simple and elegant approach brings to life the intricacies of the work and espouses the spirit of the role that is so critical to eliminating disparities a true model educational approach to emulate." Gayle Tang, MSN, RN., director, National Linguistic and Cultural Programs, National Diversity, Kaiser Permanente "Finally, we have a competency-based textbook for community health worker education well informed by seasoned CHWs themselves as well as expert contributors." Donald E. Proulx, CHW National Education Collaborative, University of Arizona
Over half the world's rural population, and many in urban slums, have minimal access to health services. This book describes how to set up new, and develop existing, community-based health care for, by and with, the community.
This manual provides expert practical guidelines for the management of severely malnourished children. Addressed to doctors and other senior health workers, the manual explains exactly what must be done to save lives, achieve successful management and rehabilitation, prevent relapse, and thus give these children the greatest chance of full recovery. Throughout, the importance of treating severe malnutrition as both a medical and a social disorder is repeatedly emphasized. As successful management does not require sophisticated facilities and equipment or highly qualified personnel, the manual also performs a persuasive function, encouraging health professionals to do all they can to save these children and meet their great need for care and affection. Recommended procedures draw on extensive practical experience as well as several recent therapeutic advances. These include improved solutions of oral rehydration salts for the treatment of dehydration, better understanding of the role of micronutrients in dietary management, and growing evidence that physical and psychological stimulation can help prevent long-term consequences of impaired growth and psychological development. Noting that the physiology of malnourished children is seriously abnormal, the manual gives particular attention to aspects of management - whether involving the interpretation of symptoms or the use of specific interventions - that differ considerably from standard procedures for well-nourished children. Details range from the reasons why IV infusion easily causes overhydration and heart failure, through a list of treatments that have no value and should never be used, to the simple reminder that underarm temperature is not a reliable guide to body temperature in a malnourished child during rewarming. Further practical guidance is provided in eight appendices, which use numerous tables, charts, sample recording forms, instructions for preparing feeds, and examples of easily constructed toys to help ensure that management is thorough, safe, and in line with the latest knowledge.
A nutrition training programme was developed for three Community Health Workers (CHWs) to enable them to deliver a community-based lifestyle nutrition intervention to pregnant obese women. The nutrition intervention was part of the Healthy Mums and Babies (HUMBA) randomised controlled trial which was delivered in South Auckland, New Zealand. The purpose of this study was to report the results of the evaluation of the CHW nutrition training programme. Participants came from two sources: firstly, all CHWs who completed the nutrition training programme (n=3) and secondly, the HUMBA participants engaged in the nutrition intervention of the HUMBA trial (n=90). Seventy-eight hours of formal training in nutrition and communication skills was developed and delivered to three CHWs, along with 58 hours of informal training. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using: nutrition knowledge tests, semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and nutrition education competency reviews. Data were analysed using various methods including thematic analysis, categorisation of Likert scores, competency assessment progression or regression and percentage scores. The quantitative findings demonstrated that all three CHWs were very satisfied with the training programme. All CHWs' nutrition knowledge increased immediately after the training. However, there was a decrease in median nutrition knowledge score at 21 months after training, although it was above the pre-training course score. The findings also suggested that the confidence levels of all three CHWs to deliver the HUMBA nutrition intervention increased over a 20 month period. Community Health Workers demonstrated more frequent improvements on the competency scale towards achieved than regression towards not achieved with 26 instances of an improvement, ten instances of no improvement and nine regressions. The HUMBA participants were very satisfied with the intervention visits they received from their appointed CHW, with 99% of those answering the satisfaction question reporting that they would recommend the visits to a friend. The qualitative findings clustered into a chronological form, creating themes of: prior learning, current learning, future application and evaluation. Triangulating the quantitative and qualitative data suggested that the training programme was effective in enabling CHWs to deliver a lifestyle intervention to HUMBA participants. This study highlights the successful components of the CHWs' nutrition training programme, and proposes some recommendations for future improvements.
This book is a revised and enlarged edition of "The Primary Health Worker," a standard teaching text and reference manual developed for community health workers and their trainers and supervisors. The new edition has been updated with practical knowledge gained during the extensive field use of the previous work. The book also incorporates new information acquired in programs sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) for immunization and control of diarrheal disease. The most extensive part of the book is a working guide set out in 52 training and reference units. These have been selected as representing areas where community health workers can make a significant contribution toward the solution of problems in developing countries. Chapters include knowing your community, promoting a healthy environment, keeping the family healthy, health care of women and children, treating sick people, and getting the work done. The new edition also features more advice on ways to prevent diseases and secure community support, as well as on what to do when confronted with health problems, sanitation, or accidents. Also included are precise instructions for the correct performance of such basic procedures as the disinfection of drinking water, the building of latrines, injections, and the use of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The remaining sections present guidelines for the trainers of community health workers and for the preparation of local editions or adaptations of this book. (KC)
