Community Health Worker s

1. Community Health Workers

2. Community Health Workers (CHW) are members of the community who work as volunteers. • They work in partnership with the health care system and may share ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status and life experiences with the community members they serve.

3. CHWs are involved in a wide range of health care activities such as first aid, some types of health screening, health education, health promotion, community organization services and support to the health centers and mobile clinics.

4. COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER RECRUITMENT PROCESS • Recruitment by the community ensures that appropriate persons are selected who can effectively relay health messages in a culturally sensitive way, who can hold the trust of the community, maintain respect and perform the required tasks.

5. The Community Health Worker is selected through a community process. • It is recommended that either community members with certain qualities and interests request to be nominated or that the community selects persons with certain qualities and leadership skills who can represent their needs. • The nominees are then voted for in a community meeting and the person (or persons) with the highest number of votes becomes the community's candidate for CHW training. This is witness by HECOPAB health educator.

6. The following is a list of qualities determined in nominees: • Excellent relationship with the community • Leadership qualities • Interest in working toward better health for the community • Good role model in the community • Good self-esteem • Able to be calm in difficult situations • Motivated; able to work alone • Caring, Honest • Responsible, dependable • Trainable, eager to learn and use new skills • Creative/ Resourceful • Confidential • Have at least a primary school certificate • Have a clean police record

7. Process following selection by the community • 1) The selected person meet the HECOPAB district health educator who provides an orientation to the nominee. The nominee is then provided a date to commence the Ministry of Health Basic Community Health Worker Training. • 2) Following satisfactory completion of the required Ministry of Health Basic Community Health Worker Training person is provided a certificate and a CHW Identification Card authorizing the CHW to practice in the specific community that nominated the person. The ID card remains the property of the Ministry of Health.

9. The CHW ID Card is renewable every 2 years upon meeting a specific Ministry of Health Criteria. Evaluation is done by community, the rural or public health nurse, and the HECOPAB district health educator. • Failure to meet a satisfactory score results in a meeting between the CHW, the Deputy Regional Health Manager, the HECOPAB district health educator, the PHN, RHN and the community chairman/alcalde/leader.

10. The following are options to be considered based on the issue/s presented: • A plan of action may be developed to strengthen the performance of the CHW. • The process may also result in the termination of the CHW. In this case, the community process for CHW selection resumes. • The ID card is returned to the Ministry of Health • The community is sensitively informed that the responsibilities of this person as a CHW have ended.

11. Primary Responsibilities • Motivate the community to be active, engaged participants in their health management • Talk about services and programs of the Ministry of Health

12. Carry out a community profile survey and collect required statistics annually • Perform and/or organize community health education activities • Health promotion activities in homes, neighborhoods, schools, churches, during clinics, etc. Presentations can be done one – one or in groups

13. Encourage pregnant women for prenatal care, and mothers to take children for immunization • Promote sanitation and hygiene • Check and monitor BP, blood glucose, pregnancy tests (after 2 missed periods), monitor growth of children

14. Provide appropriate referrals to health facilities and other organizations/agencies • Encourage community members to use health facilities • Provide basic informal counseling support

15. Diagnose and treat a limited range of common diseases (e.g. diarrhea, head lice, Cold, Pink Eye) • Prepare and submit reports on a monthly basis and as needed to the district health educator • Distribute health information materials e.g. posters, flyers, and brochures to appropriate areas

16. Secondary responsibilities • Accompany the RHN or PHN team on mobile clinics • Provide support services to visiting foreign health teams working in the CHW’s community • Accompany seriously ill patients to the hospital • Support community members who are following a course of prescribed treatment e.g. for Dengue, TB, HIV

17. Responsible for the cleaning of the community health post in preparation for visiting clinics (with supplies provided by the responsible formal health facility)

18. CHW Activities • 12 Home visits per month by at least 80 % CHW • 1 school visit per month • 1 community health session monthly • Monitoring growth of babies monthly/bi-monthly • Visits to newborns and moms (3 visits after baby arrives in community • Screening adolescents for pregnancy risks and referring them for appropriate services

19. 75% Attend monthly meetings and HECOPAB trainings • Meet with catchment area team • Work with medical teams in communities • Performing first aid • 50 % referrals and counter referrals from and to CHW • Weight and height of children 0 -3 years once a month. • Weight and height of malnourish children 0 – 5 years twice a month (Ms. Marley Ack to provide names at monthly meetings)

20. Thank you all, Lets start the nomination and voting process