The experiences and challenges of community health volunteers as agents for behaviour change programming in Africa: a scoping review

Ndu, M (通讯作者),Univ Western Ontario, Fac Hlth Sci, 1151 Richmond St, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada.
2022-12-31
Community health volunteers are considered a vital part of the community health structure in Africa. Despite this vital role in African health systems, very little is known about the community health volunteers' day-to-day lived experiences providing services in communities and supporting other health workers. This scoping review aims to advance understanding of the day-to-day experiences of community health volunteers in Africa. In doing so, this review draws attention to these under-considered actors in African health systems and identifies critical factors and conditions that represent challenges to community health volunteers' work in this context. Ultimately, our goal is to provide a synthesis of key challenges and considerations that can inform efforts to reduce attrition and improve the sustainability of community health volunteers in Africa. This scoping review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews checklist to achieve the objectives. A comprehensive search of six databases returned 2140 sources. After screening, 31 peer-reviewed studies were selected for final review. Analytical themes were generated based on the reviewers' extraction of article data into descriptive themes using an inductive approach. In reviewing community health volunteers' accounts of providing health services, five key challenges become apparent. These are: (1) challenges balancing work responsibilities with family obligations; (2) resource limitations; (3) exposure to stigma and harassment; (4) gendered benefits and risks; and (5) health-system level challenges. This scoping review highlights the extent of challenges community health volunteers must navigate to provide services in communities. Sustained commitment at the national and international level to understand the lived experiences of community health volunteers and mitigate common stressors these health actors face could improve their performance and inform future programs.
GLOBAL HEALTH ACTION
卷号:15|期号:1
收录类别:SCIE
语种
英语
来源机构
Western University (University of Western Ontario); Western University (University of Western Ontario); Western University (University of Western Ontario); Western University (University of Western Ontario)
被引频次(WOS)
0
被引频次(其他)
0
180天使用计数
3
2013以来使用计数
3
EISSN
1654-9880
出版年
2022-12-31
DOI
10.1080/16549716.2022.2138117
WOS学科分类
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
学科领域
循证公共卫生
关键词
Sustainable development goals lived experiences low-middle-income countries human resources for health universal health coverage