Grass roots action: community health workers | |
Community health workers: The way forward. Haile M Kahassey, Mary E Taylor and Peter A Berman. Geneva: World Health Organization 1998 (iv + 73pp.). ISBN: 92 4 156190 4. |
Community health worker (CHW) programs promote primary health care and have addressed health needs at the community level for many years. This has been more pronounced in developing countries in Africa and Asia, but the programs are also active in inner-city areas of more developed countries. This book is the fourth in a World Health Organization series, Public health in action. The authors' intent is to describe the value of community health workers and to "help rekindle international support". They outline a brief history of CHWs and their achievements, followed by an examination of why CHW programs have not reached their full potential "despite the relatively rich knowledge and experience accumulated". The three chapters reporting on research around the themes of attitudes, structure, and management and resources contain no surprises for anyone who has worked with community health programs. The topics discussed are varied, based on fieldwork commissioned by WHO, and boxed examples are included. I found the discussion on relationships with health personnel, including traditional healers, both insightful and useful. Ways to increase community participation, control costs of programs and effectively allocate resources are pragmatically examined. While Australian indigenous health workers are not included in this book, the examples from other countries will sound very familiar to those working in indigenous health in Australia, and the discussions provide useful ideas for improvements. This book represents good value for those working in indigenous healthcare or those planning to work in underdeveloped areas. Elizabeth M Chalmers
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