Profiles, Perceptions and Motivations of Community Health Workers of NGOs in a Border City of US-Mexico

Alfaro-Trujillo, Beatriz; Valles-Medina, Ana María; Vargas-Ojeda, Adriana Carolina

doi:10.1007/s10900-011-9486-z

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Of the 16 studies listed in Table 1 that found altruism or helping one’s community to be a motivator, 13 also found financial motivators, or the lack thereof, to be an incentive, or deterrent, for CHWs [4,12,14,16,27,29,31-34,37-39]. Although interviewed CHWs appreciated the stipends they earned for fulfilling certain obligations, such as attending trainings, CHWs interviewed in this study and in the summarized studies cited the challenges of not being paid a regular salary and not having enough time for income-generating activities [4,16,28,32,37].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although interviewed CHWs appreciated the stipends they earned for fulfilling certain obligations, such as attending trainings, CHWs interviewed in this study and in the summarized studies cited the challenges of not being paid a regular salary and not having enough time for income-generating activities [4,16,28,32,37]. The need for a regular income can be a deterrent to becoming a CHW and can cause CHWs to drop out or devote less time to their CHW work [12,14-16,29,32,38]. Salum, for example, decided to volunteer only a few times a month to make time for his farm work.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sources of community health worker motivation: a qualitative study in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

et al. 2013

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BackgroundThere is a renewed interest in community health workers (CHWs) in Tanzania, but also a concern that low motivation of CHWs may decrease the benefits of investments in CHW programs. This study aimed to explore sources of CHW motivation to inform programs in Tanzania and similar contexts.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 CHWs in Morogoro Region, Tanzania. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and coded prior to translation and thematic analysis. The authors then conducted a literature review on CHW motivation and a framework that aligned with our findings was modified to guide the presentation of results.ResultsSources of CHW motivation were identified at the individual, family, community, and organizational levels. At the individual level, CHWs are predisposed to volunteer work and apply knowledge gained to their own problems and those of their families and communities. Families and communities supplement other sources of motivation by providing moral, financial, and material support, including service fees, supplies, money for transportation, and help with farm work and CHW tasks. Resistance to CHW work exhibited by families and community members is limited. The organizational level (the government and its development partners) provides motivation in the form of stipends, potential employment, materials, training, and supervision, but inadequate remuneration and supplies discourage CHWs. Supervision can also be dis-incentivizing if perceived as a sign of poor performance.ConclusionsTanzanian CHWs who work despite not receiving a salary have an intrinsic desire to volunteer, and their motivation often derives from support received from their families when other sources of motivation are insufficient. Policy-makers and program managers should consider the burden that a lack of remuneration imposes on the families of CHWs. In addition, CHWs’ intrinsic desire to volunteer does not preclude a desire for external rewards. Rather, adequate and formal financial incentives and in-kind alternatives would allow already-motivated CHWs to increase their commitment to their work.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of community health worker motivation: a qualitative study in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

et al. 2013

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“…Informed by the literature about the CHW role and input from community members and promotoras, we explored men’s perceptions of their time and time constraints, sources of health information, leadership, male responsibility, and community participation (15; 21; 22). While we selected these topics a priori , we used open-ended questions and extensive probing to obtain participant’s perspectives on these topics and generate new understanding of their meaning (29).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women were, and still are, considered responsible for the health of their families, which translated into a responsibility for the health and wellbeing of their communities (18; 20). Other explanations emphasize the relative ease of recruiting women who did not work and wanted to do other activities beyond their household duties (19–21). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging Men as Promotores de Salud: Perceptions of Community Health Workers Among Latino Men in North Carolina

2014

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The promotor de salud, or community health worker (CHW) role, is highly feminized and little is known about how men view their participation in CHW programs. We conducted in-depth interviews with Latino men in North Carolina to explore this gap. We used systematic coding and display procedures informed by Grounded Theory to analyze the data. Men described their communities as lacking cohesion, making integration of Latino immigrants difficult. Most did not consider themselves leaders or feel they had leaders in their communities. Their perceptions of the feminized CHW role as well as the volunteer or low-paid nature of CHW work conflicted with men’s provider role. They also did not think they could perform the CHW role because they lacked education, skills, and broad networks. Efforts to increase male participation in CHW programs in new Latino immigrant destinations will need to understand and address these gender and migration-related dynamics in order to engage both women and men in improving the health of their communities.

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“…As seen in a previous study conducted among community health workers in Ghana [25], the volunteers did not want to specify an exact amount and explained that the amount is not important as long as they received something to support their family or expenses they had with CEBS, or even to help in the community. One CBV, who had spent money on transportation to a CEBS meeting, asked:…”

Section: Volunteers' Motivationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Red Cross volunteers’ experience with a mobile community event- based surveillance (CEBS) system in Sierra Leone during-and after the Ebola outbreak- A qualitative study

Larsen¹,

Mburu²,

Kongelf³

et al. 2017

Health Prim Car

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Purpose: The objective of this study was to explore the volunteers' experiences with and perspectives on the community event-based surveillance system in Sierra Leone.Methods and materials: 62 volunteers from 14 different chiefdoms participated in in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, which were audio recorded and transcribed. A comprehensive and systematic thematic analysis was conducted, which identified key benefits and challenges. Results:The volunteers believe CEBS positively impacts their communities. CEBS increases knowledge and behavior change, contributing to the prevention of Ebola and other diseases and decreasing overall mortality. Volunteers are motivated to participate by an aspiration of helping their community, although many volunteers also participated in the hope of receiving monetary incentives. Communities were initially reluctant to participate in surveillance due to fear of Ebola, but acceptance increased with improved community engagement. Reporting by phone call and SMS was perceived as a quick and simple way of reporting, although challenges with access to mobile network, sim registration and cost for charging were identified. Many of the volunteers could not repeat or explain the different case definitions and explained reporting on symptoms solely or other health events, suggesting that the volunteers did not have a clear understanding of case definitions or purpose of CEBS.Conclusion: SMS reporting directly from the community is perceived as a timely, easy and reliable way of sharing important information, but the usefulness of the system relies not only on the structure of the system itself, but also on external factors, such as the relationship between the community members and the volunteers, and the logistical structure.

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Profiles, Perceptions and Motivations of Community Health Workers of NGOs in a Border City of US-Mexico

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Sources of community health worker motivation: a qualitative study in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Sources of community health worker motivation: a qualitative study in Morogoro Region, Tanzania

Engaging Men as Promotores de Salud: Perceptions of Community Health Workers Among Latino Men in North Carolina

Red Cross volunteers’ experience with a mobile community event- based surveillance (CEBS) system in Sierra Leone during-and after the Ebola outbreak- A qualitative study

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