Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016)
Abstract Background Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been widely used in response to the shortage of skilled health workers especially in resource limited areas. China has a long history of involving CHWs in public health intervention project. CHWs in China called village doctors who have both t...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
BMC
2018-06-01
|
Series: | Global Health Research and Policy |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41256-018-0072-0 |
id |
doaj-ff57dfd6ed9944e299d4b8653b878950 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-ff57dfd6ed9944e299d4b8653b8789502020-11-25T00:37:35ZengBMCGlobal Health Research and Policy2397-06422018-06-013112910.1186/s41256-018-0072-0Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016)Wenting Huang0Hongfei Long1Jiang Li2Sha Tao3Pinpin Zheng4Shenglan Tang5Abu S. Abdullah6Global Health Program, Duke Kunshan UniversityGlobal Health Program, Duke Kunshan UniversityDepartment of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Fudan UniversityDepartment of Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health, Fudan UniversityGlobal Health Program, Duke Kunshan UniversityGlobal Health Program, Duke Kunshan UniversityAbstract Background Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been widely used in response to the shortage of skilled health workers especially in resource limited areas. China has a long history of involving CHWs in public health intervention project. CHWs in China called village doctors who have both treatment and public health responsibilities. This systematic review aimed to identify the types of public health services provided by CHWs and summarized potential barriers and facilitating factors in the delivery of these services. Methods We searched studies published in Chinese or English, on Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and CNKI for public health services delivered by CHWs in China, during 1996–2016. The role of CHWs, training for CHWs, challenges, and facilitating factors were extracted from reviewed studies. Results Guided by National Basic Public Health Service Standards, services provided by CHW covered five major areas of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes and/or hypertension, cancer, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, and common NCD risk factors, as well as general services including reproductive health, tuberculosis, child health, vaccination, and other services. Not many studies investigated the barriers and facilitating factors of their programs, and none reported cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Barriers challenging the sustainability of the CHWs led projects were transportation, nature of official support, quantity and quality of CHWs, training of CHWs, incentives for CHWs, and maintaining a good rapport between CHWs and target population. Facilitating factors included positive official support, integration with the existing health system, financial support, considering CHW’s perspectives, and technology support. Conclusion CHWs appear to frequently engage in implementing diverse public health intervention programs in China. Facilitators and barriers identified are comparable to those identified in high income countries. Future CHWs-led programs should consider incorporating the common barriers and facilitators identified in the current study to maximize the benefits of these programs.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41256-018-0072-0Community health workerCHWVillage doctorPrimary health careChina |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Wenting Huang Hongfei Long Jiang Li Sha Tao Pinpin Zheng Shenglan Tang Abu S. Abdullah |
spellingShingle |
Wenting Huang Hongfei Long Jiang Li Sha Tao Pinpin Zheng Shenglan Tang Abu S. Abdullah Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) Global Health Research and Policy Community health worker CHW Village doctor Primary health care China |
author_facet |
Wenting Huang Hongfei Long Jiang Li Sha Tao Pinpin Zheng Shenglan Tang Abu S. Abdullah |
author_sort |
Wenting Huang |
title |
Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
title_short |
Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
title_full |
Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
title_fullStr |
Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Delivery of public health services by community health workers (CHWs) in primary health care settings in China: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
title_sort |
delivery of public health services by community health workers (chws) in primary health care settings in china: a systematic review (1996–2016) |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
Global Health Research and Policy |
issn |
2397-0642 |
publishDate |
2018-06-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Community Health Workers (CHWs) have been widely used in response to the shortage of skilled health workers especially in resource limited areas. China has a long history of involving CHWs in public health intervention project. CHWs in China called village doctors who have both treatment and public health responsibilities. This systematic review aimed to identify the types of public health services provided by CHWs and summarized potential barriers and facilitating factors in the delivery of these services. Methods We searched studies published in Chinese or English, on Medline, PubMed, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and CNKI for public health services delivered by CHWs in China, during 1996–2016. The role of CHWs, training for CHWs, challenges, and facilitating factors were extracted from reviewed studies. Results Guided by National Basic Public Health Service Standards, services provided by CHW covered five major areas of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) including diabetes and/or hypertension, cancer, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, and common NCD risk factors, as well as general services including reproductive health, tuberculosis, child health, vaccination, and other services. Not many studies investigated the barriers and facilitating factors of their programs, and none reported cost-effectiveness of the intervention. Barriers challenging the sustainability of the CHWs led projects were transportation, nature of official support, quantity and quality of CHWs, training of CHWs, incentives for CHWs, and maintaining a good rapport between CHWs and target population. Facilitating factors included positive official support, integration with the existing health system, financial support, considering CHW’s perspectives, and technology support. Conclusion CHWs appear to frequently engage in implementing diverse public health intervention programs in China. Facilitators and barriers identified are comparable to those identified in high income countries. Future CHWs-led programs should consider incorporating the common barriers and facilitators identified in the current study to maximize the benefits of these programs. |
topic |
Community health worker CHW Village doctor Primary health care China |
url |
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41256-018-0072-0 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT wentinghuang deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT hongfeilong deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT jiangli deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT shatao deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT pinpinzheng deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT shenglantang deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 AT abusabdullah deliveryofpublichealthservicesbycommunityhealthworkerschwsinprimaryhealthcaresettingsinchinaasystematicreview19962016 |
_version_ |
1725300567752835072 |