BACKGROUND Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are an important link between the public health system and the community. The 'Community Participation Policy for Health' in Cambodia identifies CHWs as key to local health promotion and as a critical link between district health centres and the community. However, research on the challenges CHWs face and identifying what is required to optim...

BACKGROUND The Kabeho Mwana project (2006-2011) supported the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in scaling up integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in 6 of Rwanda's 30 districts. The project trained and equipped community health workers (CHWs) according to national guidelines. In project districts, Kabeho Mwana staff also trained CHWs to conduct household-level health p...

The phenomenon of street children is generating increasing concern in South Africa. The number of street children has grown because of the current economic hardship in South Africa, increasing levels of violence and widespread family and community disruption. In terms of health, it is clear that street children may be vulnerable to a range of severe risks. The street child's view of health may ...

BACKGROUND Governments are increasingly reliant on community health workers to undertake health promotion and provide essential curative care. In 2003, the Government of Ethiopia launched the Health Extension Programme and introduced a new cadre, health extension workers (HEWs), to improve access to care in rural communities. In 2013, to inform the government's plans for HEWs to take on an enha...

The value of community development (CD) practices is well documented in the health promotion literature; it is a foundational strategy outlined in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Despite the importance of collaborative action with communities to enhance individual and community health and well-being, there exists a major gap between the evidence for CD and the actual extent to which CD...

School-based programs should be a key component of a comprehensive community health promotion agenda. Youth who are ill, are physically inactive, use tobacco, or use other drugs are unlikely to succeed in school. Furthermore, the burden that chronic diseases place on our nation’s medical and economic systems will likely worsen unless we in public health are able to prevent the risk among our yo...

Nepal underwent two major earthquakes during 2015 which claimed 9,000 deaths, left more than 23,000 injured, displaced about 2 million people and destroyed about 1,000 health facilities. Emerging health issues and disease outbreaks soon after the earthquakes were major priorities. However, preventive measures such as health education, health promotion and trainings embedded in community engagem...

Issue addressed: Mobile applications are increasingly being used in health promotion initiatives. Although there is evidence that developing these mobile health applications in multidisciplinary teams is good practice, there is a gap in the literature with respect to evaluation of the process of this partnership model and how best to disseminate the application into the community. The aim of th...

BACKGROUND Globally, trachoma is the leading cause of infectious blindness and Australia is the only developed country with endemic trachoma. It is found in remote Indigenous communities burdened with poverty, overcrowding and poor hygiene. Lack of culturally appropriate health promotion, a small trachoma workforce and lack of awareness and support for trachoma elimination in general, were earl...

background scholars describe poor health literacy as a “silent epidemic,” which is challenging the functioning of healthcare systems all over the world. health literacy is mainly meant as an individual trait which concerns the ability to obtain, process, and understand basic health information in order to effectively navigate the health system. low health literate patients perceive poor self-ef...