The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review

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dc.contributor.authorVan Iseghem, Tijs
dc.contributor.authorJacobs, Ilka
dc.contributor.authorVanden Bossche, Dorien
dc.contributor.authorDelobelle, Peter
dc.contributor.authorWillems, Sara
dc.contributor.authorMasquillier, Caroline
dc.contributor.authorDecat, Peter
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-11T08:29:34Z
dc.date.available2023-08-11T08:29:34Z
dc.date.issued2023-07-20
dc.date.updated2023-07-23T03:13:21Z
dc.description.abstractAbstract Background Existing evidence on the role of community health workers (CHWs) in primary healthcare originates primarily from the United States, Canada and Australia, and from low- and middle-income countries. Little is known about the role of CHWs in primary healthcare in European countries. This scoping review aimed to contribute to filling this gap by providing an overview of literature reporting on the involvement of CHWs in primary healthcare in WHO-EU countries since 2001 with a focus on the role, training, recruitment and remuneration. Methods This systematic scoping review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses, extension for Scoping Reviews. All published peer-reviewed literature indexed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases from Jan 2001 to Feb 2023 were reviewed for inclusion. Included studies were screened on title, abstract and full text according to predetermined eligibility criteria. Studies were included if they were conducted in the WHO-EU region and provided information regarding the role, training, recruitment or remuneration of CHWs. Results Forty studies were included in this review, originating from eight countries. The involvement of CHWs in the WHO-EU regions was usually project-based, except in the United Kingdom. A substantial amount of literature with variability in the terminology used to describe CHWs, the areas of involvement, recruitment, training, and remuneration strategies was found. The included studies reported a trend towards recruitment from within the communities with some form of training and payment of CHWs. A salient finding was the social embeddedness of CHWs in the communities they served. Their roles can be classified into one or a combination of the following: educational; navigational and supportive. Conclusion Future research projects involving CHWs should detail their involvement and elaborate on CHWs’ role, training and recruitment procedures. In addition, further research on CHW programmes in the WHO-EU region is necessary to prepare for their integration into the broader national health systems.en_US
dc.identifier.apacitationVan Iseghem, T., Jacobs, I., Vanden Bossche, D., Delobelle, P., Willems, S., Masquillier, C., & Decat, P. (2023). The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i>, 22(1), 134. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationVan Iseghem, Tijs, Ilka Jacobs, Dorien Vanden Bossche, Peter Delobelle, Sara Willems, Caroline Masquillier, and Peter Decat "The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review." <i>International Journal for Equity in Health</i> 22, 1. (2023): 134. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationVan Iseghem, T., Jacobs, I., Vanden Bossche, D., Delobelle, P., Willems, S., Masquillier, C. & Decat, P. 2023. The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review. <i>International Journal for Equity in Health.</i> 22(1):134. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Journal Article AU - Van Iseghem, Tijs AU - Jacobs, Ilka AU - Vanden Bossche, Dorien AU - Delobelle, Peter AU - Willems, Sara AU - Masquillier, Caroline AU - Decat, Peter AB - Abstract Background Existing evidence on the role of community health workers (CHWs) in primary healthcare originates primarily from the United States, Canada and Australia, and from low- and middle-income countries. Little is known about the role of CHWs in primary healthcare in European countries. This scoping review aimed to contribute to filling this gap by providing an overview of literature reporting on the involvement of CHWs in primary healthcare in WHO-EU countries since 2001 with a focus on the role, training, recruitment and remuneration. Methods This systematic scoping review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses, extension for Scoping Reviews. All published peer-reviewed literature indexed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases from Jan 2001 to Feb 2023 were reviewed for inclusion. Included studies were screened on title, abstract and full text according to predetermined eligibility criteria. Studies were included if they were conducted in the WHO-EU region and provided information regarding the role, training, recruitment or remuneration of CHWs. Results Forty studies were included in this review, originating from eight countries. The involvement of CHWs in the WHO-EU regions was usually project-based, except in the United Kingdom. A substantial amount of literature with variability in the terminology used to describe CHWs, the areas of involvement, recruitment, training, and remuneration strategies was found. The included studies reported a trend towards recruitment from within the communities with some form of training and payment of CHWs. A salient finding was the social embeddedness of CHWs in the communities they served. Their roles can be classified into one or a combination of the following: educational; navigational and supportive. Conclusion Future research projects involving CHWs should detail their involvement and elaborate on CHWs’ role, training and recruitment procedures. In addition, further research on CHW programmes in the WHO-EU region is necessary to prepare for their integration into the broader national health systems. DA - 2023-07-20 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town IS - 1 J1 - International Journal for Equity in Health KW - Community health workers KW - Primary healthcare KW - WHO-EU region KW - Community health workers KW - Primary healthcare KW - WHO-EU region LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2023 T1 - The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review TI - The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01944-0
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationVan Iseghem T, Jacobs I, Vanden Bossche D, Delobelle P, Willems S, Masquillier C, et al. The role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping review. International Journal for Equity in Health. 2023;22(1):134. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/38223.en_ZA
dc.language.rfc3066en
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Medicineen_US
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Health Sciencesen_US
dc.rights.holderThe Author(s)
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/en_US
dc.sourceInternational Journal for Equity in Healthen_US
dc.sourceInternational Journal for Equity in Health
dc.source.journalissue1en_US
dc.source.journalvolume22en_US
dc.source.pagination134en_US
dc.source.urihttps://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/
dc.subjectCommunity health workersen_US
dc.subjectPrimary healthcareen_US
dc.subjectWHO-EU regionen_US
dc.subjectCommunity health workers
dc.subjectPrimary healthcare
dc.subjectWHO-EU region
dc.titleThe role of community health workers in primary healthcare in the WHO-EU region: a scoping reviewen_US
dc.typeJournal Articleen_US
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