| Peer-Reviewed

Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District

Received: 26 March 2017     Accepted: 5 April 2017     Published: 5 May 2017
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

In Uganda community empowerment and mobilization for health has been enshrined in national health policies and strategies since 1999. The USAID Health Care Improvement Project developed the CHW AIM Toolkit that includes a guided self-assessment and performance improvement process to help organizations identify program strengths and address gaps for improving functionality. The study was conducted to ascertain the extent to which the utilization of the CHW- AIM strengthened the VHT systems in accordance with the MoH 2010 guidelines. Using the CHW-AIM methodology at the end line assessment, 6 program components scored 3 a best practice of functionality (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10), 8 program components scored a functional score of 2 (2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) and only one component scored a partially functional score of 1 (7). The District and the Health Facilities should use this VHT Assessment tool periodically to identify areas of weakness and make improvements accordingly.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 5, Issue 4)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11
Page(s) 275-287
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2017. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

CHW-AIM, Village Health Teams, Community Health System’s Strengthening, Village Health Team Functionality

References
[1] WHO, 2007, Community health workers: What do we know about them?: http://www.who.int/hrh/documents/community_health_workers.pdfMinistry of Health Uganda, 2010, Village.
[2] Health Team. A handbook to improve health in communities. https://www.k4health.org/sites/default/files/VHT%20BOOK.pdf.
[3] URC, 2011, Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM):A Toolkit for Improving CHW Programs and Services: http://www.urc-chs.com/sites/default/files/Community%20Health%20Worker%20Assessment%20and%20Improvement%20Matrix.pdf.
[4] World Vision Uganda, 2014, Improving Maternal Newborn and Child Health through Village Health Teams in Uganda: A VHT AIM Functionality Assessment Report.
[5] WHO, 2006, The cost-effectiveness of close-to-community health programmes: http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/themes/community/en/.
[6] MoH, Uganda, 2015, NATIONAL VILLAGE HEALTH TEAMS (VHT) ASSESSMENT IN UGANDA http://library.health.go.ug/publications/service-delivery-public-health/health-education/national-village-health-teams.
[7] World Vision Uganda, 2011, East Africa Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Project (EAMNCH) Project Design document
[8] World Vision International, Global Health and Nutrition, 2010, 7-11 Field start up guide: http://www.wvi.org/sites/default/files/WV_FieldGuide_FINAL_2.pdf.
[9] Mitchell H. Katz, MD,2012, The Value of Community Health Workers. Comment on Community Health Workers Combat Readmission.http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/1389235.
[10] Auma Jane-Frances Nyasuna 2011, The Ugandan Government’s commitment to the Right to Health: a focus on Village Health Teams (VHT) and the rural poor.
[11] Rornald Kananura,2012, Role of Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Public Health-Uganda, https://apha.confex.com/apha/140am/webprogram/Paper268132.html.
[12] Dr. Henry Katamba, 2013, iCCM in Uganda. Background and Process. http://www.malariaconsortium.org/userfiles/5-ICCM-in-uganda-background-and-process.pdf.
[13] One Million Health worker campaign, 2014, The Current State of CHW Training Programs in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia: What We Know, What We Don’t Know, and What We Need to Do. http://1millionhealthworkers.org/files/2013/01/1mCHW_mPowering_LitReview_Formatted.compressed.pdf.
[14] Global Workforce alliance, 2011, Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix (CHW AIM): A Toolkit for Improving Community Health Worker Programs and Services. Tool for conducting assessment and improvement for community health worker practice. http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/toolkit/54/en/.
[15] Babughirana Geoffrey, Muhirwe Barungi Lorna, Kimurahebwe Clare. Village Health Team Functionality in Uganda: Implications forCommunity System Effectiveness. Science Journal of Public Health. Vol. 4, No. 2, 2016, pp. 117-126. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20160402.16.
[16] World Vision International, 2014, TIMED AND TARGETED COUNSELLING FOR HEALTH AND NUTRITION. A TOOLKIT FOR PROGRAMME PLANNERS. http://chwcentral.org/sites/default/files/TTC%20Toolkit%20for%20Programme%20Planners.pdf.
[17] World Vision Uganda, 2014 Implementation guideline for the TIMED AND TARGETED COUNSELLING.
[18] Lauren Crigler, Jessica Gergen, and Henry Perry, 2013, Supervision of Community Health Workers. http://www.mchip.net/sites/default/files/mchipfiles/09_CHW_Supervision.pdf.
[19] Kimbugwe et al. 2014, Challenges Faced by Village Health Teams (VHTs) in Amuru, Gulu and Pader Districts in Northern Uganda, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4542049/pdf/nihms-714126.pdf.
[20] MINISTRY OF HEALTH, REPUBLIC OF UGANDA, 2016, VHT / Community Health Extension Workers. http://health.go.ug/community-health-departments/vht-community-health-extension-workers.
[21] Illinois Career Information System, 2015, Community Health Workers Advancement Opportunities. https://apps.il-work-net.com/cis/clusters/OccupationDetails/100565?parentId=111000&section=advancement&sectionTitle=Advancement%20Opportunities.
[22] WHO, 2012, Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Deployment of community health workers across rural sub-Saharan Africa: financial considerations and operational assumptions. http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/91/4/12-109660/en/.
[23] Maryse Catelijne Kok, 2015, PERFORMANCE OF COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS. Optimizing the benefi ts of their unique position between communities and the health sector. http://213ou636sh0ptphd141fqei1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/health/wp-content/uploads/publications/5641fbb74cc7f_Kok%202015%20Performance%20of%20CHWs.pdf.
[24] Bjerregaard D, Crigler L. 2012. CHW Regional Meeting. Addis Ababa,Ethiopia, June 19-21, 2012. Proceedings. Published by the USAID Health Care Improvement Project.
[25] Ministry of Health (MOH) Uganda. 2009b. “Situation Analysis, Village Health Teams Uganda.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Babughirana Geoffrey, Tusaasire Joab, Musasizi Benon, Lule Mark, Muhuma Muyima Ceasar, et al. (2017). Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District. Science Journal of Public Health, 5(4), 275-287. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Babughirana Geoffrey; Tusaasire Joab; Musasizi Benon; Lule Mark; Muhuma Muyima Ceasar, et al. Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District. Sci. J. Public Health 2017, 5(4), 275-287. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Babughirana Geoffrey, Tusaasire Joab, Musasizi Benon, Lule Mark, Muhuma Muyima Ceasar, et al. Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District. Sci J Public Health. 2017;5(4):275-287. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11,
      author = {Babughirana Geoffrey and Tusaasire Joab and Musasizi Benon and Lule Mark and Muhuma Muyima Ceasar and Twinomujuni Edgar},
      title = {Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {5},
      number = {4},
      pages = {275-287},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20170504.11},
      abstract = {In Uganda community empowerment and mobilization for health has been enshrined in national health policies and strategies since 1999. The USAID Health Care Improvement Project developed the CHW AIM Toolkit that includes a guided self-assessment and performance improvement process to help organizations identify program strengths and address gaps for improving functionality. The study was conducted to ascertain the extent to which the utilization of the CHW- AIM strengthened the VHT systems in accordance with the MoH 2010 guidelines. Using the CHW-AIM methodology at the end line assessment, 6 program components scored 3 a best practice of functionality (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10), 8 program components scored a functional score of 2 (2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) and only one component scored a partially functional score of 1 (7). The District and the Health Facilities should use this VHT Assessment tool periodically to identify areas of weakness and make improvements accordingly.},
     year = {2017}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Utilization of the Community Health Worker Assessment and Improvement Matrix to Strengthen Village Health Team Systems in Uganda: A Case for Kitgum District
    AU  - Babughirana Geoffrey
    AU  - Tusaasire Joab
    AU  - Musasizi Benon
    AU  - Lule Mark
    AU  - Muhuma Muyima Ceasar
    AU  - Twinomujuni Edgar
    Y1  - 2017/05/05
    PY  - 2017
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11
    T2  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JF  - Science Journal of Public Health
    JO  - Science Journal of Public Health
    SP  - 275
    EP  - 287
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7950
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20170504.11
    AB  - In Uganda community empowerment and mobilization for health has been enshrined in national health policies and strategies since 1999. The USAID Health Care Improvement Project developed the CHW AIM Toolkit that includes a guided self-assessment and performance improvement process to help organizations identify program strengths and address gaps for improving functionality. The study was conducted to ascertain the extent to which the utilization of the CHW- AIM strengthened the VHT systems in accordance with the MoH 2010 guidelines. Using the CHW-AIM methodology at the end line assessment, 6 program components scored 3 a best practice of functionality (1, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 10), 8 program components scored a functional score of 2 (2, 5, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15) and only one component scored a partially functional score of 1 (7). The District and the Health Facilities should use this VHT Assessment tool periodically to identify areas of weakness and make improvements accordingly.
    VL  - 5
    IS  - 4
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • World Vision, Kampala, Uganda

  • World Vision, Kampala, Uganda

  • World Vision, Kampala, Uganda

  • World Vision, Kampala, Uganda

  • Real Medicine Foundation, Yumbe, Uganda

  • World Vision, Kampala, Uganda

  • Sections