Lady Health Worker Program Research Articles

Empowering Rural Health - Evaluating The Impact of the Lady Health Worker Programme in providing Pharmaceutical care in Pakistan

Empowering Rural Health - Evaluating The Impact of the Lady Health Worker Programme in providing Pharmaceutical care in Pakistan

Empowering Rural Health - Evaluating The Impact of the Lady Health Worker Programme in providing Pharmaceutical care in Pakistan

Empowering Rural Health - Evaluating The Impact of the Lady Health Worker Programme in providing Pharmaceutical care in Pakistan

Importance of Community Health Workers for Maternal Health Care Management.

Objectives: Community Health Workers (CHWs) are important healthcare professionals and key members of team. The purpose of this research is to identify the roles and responsibilities of CHWs in developed and developing countries who provide healthcare assistance to pregnant and lactating women. Methods: For this particular study, a comparison was conducted between CHWs role in seven developed countries, seven South Asian developing countries, and India, with special emphasis on improving maternal health status. Results: CHW programs are essential in communities, institutional health programs, and outreach delivery systems. Without active community involvement, CHWs cannot reach their full potential. Developed countries have frameworks for CHWs, such as the Swasthya Shebika Program, Village Health Worker Cadret, Lady Health Worker Programme, and Accredited Social Health Activist program. CHWs are well-paid in developed nations and work with marginalized groups to spread health messages. However, up to 60% of community health workers in low- and lower-middle-income countries do not receive remuneration. Conclusion: Health systems must support CHWs in choosing technical interventions and providing necessary training, supervision, and logistical support.

EDUCATIONAL TRAINING OF LADY HEALTH WORKERS AND PREVENTION OF ABORTION RELATED MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY

One of the major challenges faced by developing world for achieving universal health care includes shortage of Manpower indicated by the fact that an estimated one billion people will never see a health worker during the course of their lives. As a consequence to this shortage millions of people die or are disabled each year1. One solution to this dilemma was increasing health workforce by induction of community health workers (CHWs), members of the community who are trained to provide basic health services. They offer the first and at times only admittance to health services for people in the developing world2. But, research has shown that, CHWs are not effectively trained, remunerated, or retained. In Pakistan Lady Health Worker Program started with the overall goal to contribute to poverty reduction by improving the health of the people. So Lady Health Workers (LHWs) were recruited and trained to provide family planning services and primary health care (PHC) in their own communities3. The health services, based on PHC, include among other things: education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of preventing and controlling them, and provision of essential drugs and supplies. One of the major current problems is Abortion. Worldwide 61% (Six out of 10) of all unintended pregnancies, and 29 % (3 out of 10) of all pregnancies, end in induced abortion. And out of all abortions around 45% are unsafe, of which 97% occurring in developing countries4. An estimated Over two million abortions are performed annually in Pakistan5. Involved health risks depend on whether the procedure is performed safely or unsafely. Unsafe abortion is common in rural areas, where plant species are used to terminate an unwanted pregnancy6 and restricted abortion law countries ,where most attempt to self-abort or go to untrained person7. fIn Pakistan, mostly abortions are due to unwanted pregnancy, poverty, lack of awareness about Reproductive Health and Family planning methods on part of both husband and wife. Abortion related care includes emergency treatment of abortion, post-abortion family planning services including counseling and making links between the post-abortion emergency services and the reproductive healthcare system. A Lady Health worker informs and counsels any pregnant adolescent about the possible consequences (medical and psychological) of unsafe abortion. In case of any of any of such complication’s immediate referral to a higher health facility (often a hospital) is needed where she can get sufficient care. Delay in seeking care specially demands improved reproductive health information about abortion care. Improving current PAC services at lower level facilities will also minimize delays resulting from long referral processes8. Improving knowledge through trainings of the health workers about prevention of abortion and risk factors will bridge the gap between the current and ideally required level of knowledge for delivering preventive abortion related health care services. Theses trained health workers can utilize this knowledge for increasing awareness among reproductive age group females especially of rural community. And eventually abortion related morbidity and mortality can be significantly reduced which will contribute for attainment of the Sustainable MDG related to decreasing maternal morbidity and mortality.

FACTORS AFFECTING FAMILY PLANNING SERVICES’ UTILIZATION AMONG BENEFICIARIES OF LADY HEALTH WORKERS

Family planning is thought to be a practical way to slow down population growth and enhance mother and child health. The doorstep services through Community Health Workers (CHWs) are essential in order to attain universal access to family planning methods. In Pakistan the Lady Health Worker Program (LHWP) tried to combine family planning and primary healthcare right at the client's door by deploying CHWs known as Lady Health Workers (LHWs). The objective of this study was to explore the characteristics of LHWs influencing beneficiaries’ use of family planning services provided by this cadre. In order to achieve the objective, a quantitative research approach was used, with the social ecological model serving as the theoretical framework. Participants in the research ranged in age from 15 to 49 years and were from 398 families in the Lahore District. Participants were chosen by a proportional systematic random sample, and an interview schedule was used as the data collection tool. The study found a substantial correlation between beneficiaries’ utilization of family planning services and different characteristics of LHWs. Based on these findings, it is recommended that LHW skills be improved or enhanced so that more women can benefit from the family planning services that LHWs offer. Keywords: Family Planning Services, Beneficiaries, Lady Health Workers, Characteristics, Lahore District

The Issues and Challenges Faced by Lady Health Workers in Maternal Health Care in Rural Communities: An Evidence from South Punjab

The Lady health worker (LHW) programme is one of the important steps that have been taken by Pakistan since 1994 to connect with communities and create awareness among different segments of the population particularly women on their maternal health. This LHW programme has managed to develop a system that connects rural communities, especially women with the first-level care facility in communities with a great focus on maternal health care. The current paper aims to identify the challenges and issues faced by lady health workers while they work in rural communities and emphasise on women’s maternal health rights. The study has also assessed the administrative hurdles at the government level that undermines the performance of LHW while working in rural communities of South Punjab. This research is qualitative in nature. Data has been collected using the method of focus group discussion (FGD). Two FGDs were conducted from each district of South Punjab known as Muzaffargarh and RajunPur. Thematic analysis has been used to analyse the data. The study will be helpful for policymakers, health departments and other government agencies. It may assist them to formulate and plan better maternal health care programmes while focusing on hurdles in its way like the socio-cultural issues and improving the working of existing programmes like LHW in country

Does supportive supervision intervention improve community health worker knowledge and practices for community management of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia? Lessons for scale-up from Nigraan and Nigraan Plus trials in Pakistan

BackgroundLack of programmatic support and supervision is one of the underlying reasons of the poor performance of Pakistan’s Lady Health Worker Program (LHWP). This study describes the findings and potential for scale-up of a supportive supervision intervention in two districts of Pakistan for improving LHWs skills for integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia.MethodsThe intervention comprised an enhanced supervision training to lady health supervisors (LHSs) and written feedback to LHWs by LHSs, implemented in Districts Badin and Mirpur Khas (MPK). Clinical skills of LHWs and LHSs and supervision skills of LHSs were assessed before, during, and after the intervention using structured tools.ResultsLHSs’ practice of providing written feedback improved between pre- and mid-intervention assessments in both trials (0% to 88% in Badin and 25% to 75% in MPK) in the study arm. Similarly, supervisory performance of study arm LHSs was better than that in the comparison arm in reviewing the treatment suggested by workers’ (94% vs 13% in MPK and 94% vs 69% in Badin) during endline skills assessment in both trials. There were improvements in LHWs’ skills for iCCM of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia in both districts. In intervention arm, LHWs’ performance for correctly assessing for dehydration (28% to 92% in Badin and 74% to 96% in MPK), and measuring the respiratory rate correctly (12% to 44% in Badin and 46% to 79% in MPK) improved between baseline and endline assessments in both trials. Furthermore, study arm LHWs performed better than those in comparison arm in classifying diarrhea correctly during post-intervention skills assessment (68% vs 40% in Badin and 96% vs 83% in MPK).ConclusionSupportive supervision including written feedback and frequent supervisor contact could improve the performance of community-based workers in managing diarrhea and pneumonia among children. Positive lessons for provincial scale-up can be drawn.Trial registration Both trials are registered with the ‘Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry’. Registration numbers: Nigraan Trial: ACTRN1261300126170; Nigraan Plus: ACTRN12617000309381.

Psychometric Validation of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support During Pregnancy in Rural Pakistan.

Background: The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) is a short and reliable instrument that assesses perceived social support from the social network of an individual. A previous study in Pakistan among postpartum women has demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure in contrast to the original three-factor structure. The emergence of a one-factor structure for postpartum women in Pakistan may be due to traditional postpartum practices unique to the women of the subcontinent. Building upon the previous evidence, this study aims to explore the psychometric properties of MSPSS among pregnant women in their third trimester in rural Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 2014 to February 2016, in rural Pakistan. A sample of 1,154 pregnant women (aged ≥ 18 years) in their third trimester who were registered with the local Lady Health Worker Program and were living in the north of the Punjab Province was included in this study. They were assessed using Urdu translated scales of Patient Health Questionnaire, MSPSS, Maternal Social Support Index, and Perceived Stress Scale. Principal Axis Factoring was used to assess the construct validity of the MSPSS.Results: The MSPSS scale showed an excellent internal consistency, yielding a Cronbach's α-value of 0.933. The MSPSS scale exhibited an excellent construct validity, and confirmatory factor analysis retained three factors (family, friends, and significant others) for both the depressed and non-depressed samples. Internal reliability and construct validity were also established.Conclusion: The psychometric findings suggest that the tridimensional structure of MSPSS is a valid and reliable measure of perceived social support among the Pakistani population with and without perinatal depression. The perceived social support is an important predictor of maternal mental well-being and psychopathologies, and the MSPSS can serve as a useful tool in mental health research in Pakistan.

Analyzing the Impact of Lady Health Worker Program on Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Community With A Lady Health Worker in Sindh Province

The study aims to analyze impact of Lady Health Worker program on use of maternal health services in community with a lady health worker. The main focus was the rural districts of Sindh for this case study. The maternal health service is determined by at least four Antenatal care (ANC) visits provided to mother and receipt of at least two Tetanus Toxoid (TT) injections to mother during pregnancy. These have direct impact on maternal mortality rate and infant mortality rate. Secondary data pertaining to all districts of Sind for three years (2017-2019) was collected from the Sindh Lady Health Worker program office Hyderabad for analysis purpose. Further secondary data of Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (2017-18) was also used to see the impact of intervention of LHW program implemented by Ministry of Health Pakistan in 1994 and then devolved to provinces after the implementation of 18th Constitutional Amendment in 2010. The study found that the services provided by the lady health workers in communities in these districts has positively influenced the uptake of maternal health services as determined by the variables like antenatal visits by pregnant mothers to nearest health facilities and receipt of Tetanus Toxoid injection during pregnancy.

Stepping Up Lady Health Worker (LHW) Program and Integrating the Electronic Immunization Record and Tracking System into the Program as a Pilot Project in the Underserved District of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan

Pakistan is one of those countries which are continuously struggling with providing essential primary healthcare services, especially in rural and underserved areas. To combat vaccine-preventable diseases, the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) has been active since 1978. Additionally, Lady Health Worker Program (LHWP) fits best with district health priorities of mother and child healthcare, family planning and National Immunization Days (NIDs). However, Pakistan faces many challenges. One is significant disparities in allocation and retention of LHW between provinces such as Punjab and Balochistan. Others are the lack of formal training and management of LHWs and a lack of immunization record system leading to vaccine wastage and broken logistics. How other low to middle-income countries (LMIC) are addressing these issues, is evident from Bangladesh and India. The Shasthya Shebika (SS) Program of Bangladesh is unique in having strategies for focused, structured training and retention of community health workers (CHWs) who receive small loans to establish funds, which they use to sell medical products to the community. To tackle the issue of lack of immunization data and vaccination wastage due to inadequate inventory, India has launched an Electronic Vaccination Intelligence Network (eVIN). The Ministry of Health, Pakistan has the potential to start a healthcare project to address the challenges mentioned above. The recommendations include allocation of 500 LHW (lady health workers) in the underserved district of Quetta in Balochistan with the implementation of retention strategies by funding LHW for small businesses, providing a formal educational structure and training and supervision of LHWs for innovative electronic immunization system. LHWs will have access to relevant educational materials and electronic devices such as tablets.

The effect of family planning exposure on fertility choices and reproductive health care in rural Pakistan

This paper investigates whether family planning exposure mainly through the Lady Health Worker Program has had any effect on women’s fertility choices and use of reproductive health care service in rural Pakistan, using the 2013 Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS). Exploiting variations in the program intensity across regions, we conduct instrumental variables (IV) estimation on the impact of family planning exposure on women’s fertility preferences and reproductive behaviors. Our analysis shows that even in the presence of strong son preferences in Pakistan, increasing family planning exposure reduces women’s incentive to have additional children. Moreover, family planning exposure is associated with more antenatal care visits, more deliveries performed by skilled professionals, and a greater chance of delivery at the health center. Finally, we examine the heterogeneity in the effect on fertility preference by age group and education level, and find that the effect is mainly significant for the educated and young women.

Pakistan’s Community-based Lady Health Workers (LHWs): Change Agents for Child Health?

BACKGROUND: In Pakistan’s high child mortality context, a large-scale Lady Health Worker (LHW) Program raises the need to look at whether LHWs are delivering their key mandate as agents of change for child health. This study examines the quantity and quality of LHW interactions with mothers for child health and their impact on mothers' knowledge and child health practices.
 
 METHODS: 1,968 mothers of children <2 years (n=1,968) were interviewed through a cross-sectional survey in two rural districts of Pakistan focusing on immunization, nutrition, and early child illness. Data on frequency of LHW’s visits; services provided, specific services related to routine immunization (RI), nutrition and child illness, and maternal knowledge and practices were analyzed using median values for continuous variables and counts and percentages for categorical data. 
 
 RESULTS: Monthly visits by LHW were reported by only 63% of LHW covered households. During LHW monthly encounters, Oral Polio drops administration was most frequently reported (77%), followed by RI (59%), breastfeeding counseling (20%), child illness management advice (18%), growth monitoring (9.5%), while none reported receiving hygiene counseling. Although LHWs were reported to be the main information source for child health; limited impact of LHW-mother interaction was seen on maternal knowledge and practices: 76% mothers reported receiving ORS packets from LHWs but only 27% knew of correct usage, only 34% washed hands before feeding children, less than a third could correctly recall early signs of pneumonia and awareness of Vaccine Preventable Diseases other than Polio ranged from 42%-9% only. 
 
 CONCLUSION: Although LHWs are main information source for child health services but infrequent, poor quality household encounters indicate ineffective delivery on the key mandate of community-based child health. Policy debate instead of focusing on scaling up or downsizing the program, should prioritize quality and supervision to improve value for money of a critical community resource.

Child Diet and Maternal Responsiveness Mediate Effects of a Responsive Stimulation and Nutrition Intervention on Child Growth and Development: Evidence from Rural Pakistan

Abstract Objectives To test the hypothesis that child diet and maternal responsiveness mediated the effects of an integrated responsive stimulation (RS) and enhanced nutrition (EN) intervention on child growth and development. Methods We used data from the Pakistan Early Child Development Scale-up (PEDS) cluster-randomized controlled trial which evaluated the effectiveness of the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Program in rural Pakistan from 2010–2012. LHWs were randomized into one of four intervention arms (20 LHWs each): (1) RS: UNICEF-WHO Care for Child Development package (locally adapted), (2) EN: EN education and multiple micronutrient powders for children 6–24 mo, (3) RS + EN, and (4) Control. LHWs delivered the interventions in routine monthly home visits and group sessions. Mother-child pairs were enrolled form birth to 24 mo (N = 1324). Primary outcomes were child growth (assessed with length-for-age Z-score (LAZ)) and development (assessed with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition) at 12 and 24 mo. We examined whether child diet (assessed with the WHO indicator for minimum acceptable diet) and maternal responsiveness (assessed with the Observation of Mother-Child Interaction tool) at 12 mo mediated intervention effects at 24 mo. Structural equation modelling was used to estimate the total, direct and indirect (via child diet and maternal responsiveness) intervention effects on child growth and development at 24 mo. Results The RS, EN and RS + EN interventions improved cognitive, language and motor development at 24 mo, but had no significant effect on LAZ and socio-emotional development. Child diet and maternal responsiveness mediated intervention effects on cognitive development, whereas maternal responsiveness alone mediated intervention effects on language and motor development. Despite the lack of significant total intervention effects on LAZ and socio-emotional development, there were significant positive indirect effects on LAZ via maternal responsiveness and child diet, and on socio-emotional development via maternal responsiveness. Conclusions Child diet and maternal responsiveness are two important mechanisms which mediated the effect of a RS and EN intervention on child growth and development. Leveraging these mechanisms can help enhance the effectiveness of RS and EN interventions. Funding Sources None.

Exploring health care seeking knowledge, perceptions and practices for childhood diarrhea and pneumonia and their context in a rural Pakistani community

BackgroundWhere access to facilities for childhood diarrhea and pneumonia is inadequate, community case management (CCM) is an effective way of improving access to care. In Pakistan, utilization of CCM for these diseases through the Lady Health Worker Program remains low. Challenges of access to facilities persist leading to delayed care and poor outcomes. Estimating caregiver knowledge, understanding their perceptions and practices, and recognizing how these are related to care seeking decisions about childhood diarrhea and pneumonia is crucial to bring about coherence between supply and demand-side practices.MethodsData was collected from family caregivers to explore their knowledge, perceptions and practices regarding childhood diarrhea and pneumonia. Data from a household survey with 7025 caregivers, seven focus group discussion (FGDs), seven in-depth interviews (IDIs), and 20 detailed narrative interviews are used to explore caregiver knowledge, perceptions and practices.ResultsHousehold survey shows that most family caregivers recognize main signs and symptoms of diarrhea such as loose stools (76%). Fewer recognize signs and symptoms of pneumonia such as breathing problems (21%). Few caregivers (18%) have confidence in lady health workers’ (LHWs) ability to treat childhood diarrhea and pneumonia. Care seeking from LHWs remains negligible (< 1%). Caregivers overwhelmingly prefer to seek care from doctors (97%). Seventy-five percent caregivers sought care from private providers and 45% from public providers.FGDs, IDIs, and narrative interviews show that care mostly begins with home remedies and sometimes self-prescribed medicines. Treatment delays occur because of caregiver inability to recognize disease, use of home remedies, financial constraints, and low utilization of community based LHW services. Caregivers do not seek care from LHWs because of lack of trust and LHWs’ inability to provide medicines. If finances allow, private doctors, who caregivers perceive as more responsive, are preferred over public sector doctors. Financial resources, availability of time, support for household chores by family and community determine whether, when, and from whom caregivers seek care.ConclusionsMany children do not receive recommended diarrhea and pneumonia treatment on time. Taking into consideration caregiver concerns, adequate supply of medicines to LHWs, improved facility level care could improve care seeking practices and child health outcomes.Trial registrationThe trial is registered with ‘Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry’. Registration Number: ACTRN12613001261707. Registered 18 November 2013.

Evaluating effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a group psychological intervention using cognitive behavioural strategies for women with common mental disorders in conflict-affected rural Pakistan: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BackgroundThe impact of humanitarian disasters upon mental health is well recognised. The evidence for psychological interventions for mental health is mounting, but few interventions have been rigorously tested in humanitarian settings. To be sustainable in humanitarian settings interventions need to be short, simple, deliverable by nonspecialists under supervision, and adopt a transdiagnostic approach where an array of mental health outcomes are addressed simultaneously. These elements have been incorporated into the newly developed WHO Problem Management Plus (PM+) Group intervention. The aim of this trial is to evaluate the locally adapted PM+ Group intervention for women in Swat, Pakistan.MethodsThis PM+ Group trial is a two-arm, single-blind, cluster randomised controlled trial conducted in a community-based setting with women in rural Pakistan. PM+ is delivered in partnership with the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme which provides community-based health care to women in Pakistan. Thirty-four LHW clusters will be randomised in a 1:1 allocation ratio using a permuted-block randomisation method. Participants screened and found to meet the inclusion criteria will be allocated to either the PM+ intervention group (n = 306), or the control arm (n = 306). The manualised PM+ intervention involves five sessions, each lasting 3 h, and introduces four strategies applied by participants to problems that they are facing. It is delivered by local female facilitators with a minimum of 16 years of education who are provided with targeted training and supervision. The primary outcome is individual psychological distress, measured by levels of anxiety and depression on the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale at 20 weeks after baseline. Secondary outcomes include major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, levels of social support, levels of functioning, and economic effectiveness. Intervention acceptability will be explored through an embedded qualitative study.DiscussionThe PM+ Group trial will provide important evidence on the effectiveness of an empirically supported psychological treatment delivered by nonspecialists in a humanitarian setting. If proven effective, the qualitative component will inform strategies for PM+ Group scale-up in health systems in other humanitarian settings.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, identifier: ACTRN12616000037404. Registered on 19 January 2016; WHO Protocol ID RPC705, v.4, 2 November 2015.

Potential for task-sharing to Lady Health Workers for identification and emergency management of pre-eclampsia at community level in Pakistan.

BackgroundAn estimated 276 Pakistani women die for every 100,000 live births; with eclampsia accounting for about 10 % of these deaths. Community health workers contribute to the existing health system in Pakistan under the banner of the Lady Health Worker (LHW) Programme and are responsible to provide a comprehensive package of antenatal services. However, there is a need to increase focus on early identification and prompt diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in community settings, since women with mild pre-eclampsia often present without symptoms. This study aims to explore the potential for task-sharing to LHWs for the community-level management of pre-eclampsia and eclampsia in Pakistan.MethodsA qualitative exploratory study was undertaken February-July 2012 in two districts, Hyderabad and Matiari, in the southern province of Sindh, Pakistan. Altogether 33 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted and the LHW curriculum and training materials were also reviewed. The data was audio-recorded, then transcribed verbatim for thematic analysis using QSR NVivo-version10.ResultsFindings from the review of the LHW curriculum and training program describe that in the existing community delivery system, LHWs are responsible for identification of pregnant women, screening women for danger signs and referrals for antenatal care. They are the first point of contact for women in pregnancy and provide nutritional counselling along with distribution of iron and folic acid supplements. Findings from FGDs suggest that LHWs do not carry a blood pressure device or antihypertensive medications; they refer to the nearest public facility in the event of a pregnancy complication. Currently, they provide tetanus toxoid in pregnancy. The health advice provided by lady health workers is highly valued and accepted by pregnant women and their families. Many Supervisors of LHWs recognized the need for increased training regarding pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, with a focus on identifying women at high risk. The entire budget of the existing lady health worker Programme is provided by the Government of Pakistan, indicating a strong support by policy makers and the government for the tasks undertaken by these providers.ConclusionThere is a potential for training and task-sharing to LHWs for providing comprehensive antenatal care; specifically for the identification and management of pre-eclampsia in Pakistan. However, the implementation needs to be combined with appropriate training, equipment availability and supervision.Trial registrationClinicalTrial.gov, NCT01911494 Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12978-016-0214-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Health workers' perspectives, knowledge and skills regarding community case management of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia: a qualitative inquiry for an implementation research project "Nigraan" in District Badin, Sindh, Pakistan.

BackgroundPakistan’s Lady Health Worker Programme aims to provide care to children sick with pneumonia and diarrhoea, which continues to cause 27 % under-five mortality in Pakistan. The quality of supervision received by Lady Health Workers (LHWs) in the programme influence their knowledge and skills, in turn impacting their ability to provide care.MethodsThis study is part of an implementation research project titled “Nigraan” (an Urdu word meaning supervisor), and explores LHW and Lady Health Supervisor (LHS) perspectives regarding the role of supervision in improving LHWs performance and motivation in district Badin, Sindh, Pakistan. Their knowledge and skills regarding integrated community case management (iCCM) of diarrhoea and pneumonia were also assessed. Fourteen focus group discussions and 20 in-depth interviews were conducted as part of this qualitative inquiry. Analysis was done using QSR NVivo version 10.ResultsMost LHWs and LHSs identified pneumonia and diarrhoea as two major causes of death among children under-five. Poverty, illiteracy, poor hygiene and lack of clean drinking water were mentioned as underlying causes of high mortality due to diarrhoea and pneumonia. LHWs and LHSs gaps in knowledge included classification of dehydration, correctly preparing ORS and prescribing correct antibiotics in pneumonia. Lack of training, delayed salaries and insufficient medicines and other supplies were identified as major factors impeding appropriate knowledge and skill development for iCCM of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia. LHWs considered adequate supervision and the presence of LHSs during household visits as a factor facilitating their performance. LHWs did not have a preference for written or verbal feedback, but LHSs considered written individual feedback to LHWs to be more useful than group and verbal feedback.ConclusionLHWs have knowledge and skill gaps that prevent them from providing effective care for diarrhoea and pneumonia. Enhanced supportive feedback from LHSs could improve LHWs skills and performance.

Inspiring health worker motivation with supportive supervision: a survey of lady health supervisor motivating factors in rural Pakistan.

BackgroundCommunity health worker motivation is an important consideration for improving performance and addressing maternal, newborn, and child health in low and middle-income countries. Therefore, identifying health system interventions that address motivating factors in resource-strained settings is essential. This study is part of a larger implementation research project called Nigraan, which is intervening on supportive supervision in the Lady Health Worker Programme to improve community case management of pneumonia and diarrhea in rural Pakistan. This study explored the motivation of Lady Health Supervisors, a cadre of community health workers, with particular attention to their views on supportive supervision.MethodsTwenty-nine lady health supervisors enrolled in Nigraan completed open-ended structured surveys with questions exploring factors that affect their motivation. Thematic analysis was conducted using a conceptual framework categorizing motivating factors at individual, community, and health system levels.ResultsSupportive supervision, recognition, training, logistics, and salaries are community and health system motivating factors for lady health supervisors. Lady health supervisors are motivated by both their role in providing supportive supervision to lady health workers and by the supervisory support received from their coordinators and managers. Family support, autonomy, and altruism are individual level motivating factors.ConclusionsHealth system factors, including supportive supervision, are crucial to improving lady health supervisor motivation. As health worker motivation influences their performance, evaluating the impact of health system interventions on community health worker motivation is important to improving the effectiveness of community health worker programs.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1641-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Evaluation of the uptake and impact of neonatal vitamin A supplementation delivered through the Lady Health Worker programme on neonatal and infant morbidity and mortality in rural Pakistan: an effectiveness trial

BackgroundDespite evidence for the benefits of vitamin A supplementation (VAS) among children 6 to 59 months of age, the feasibility of introduction and potential benefit of VAS in the neonatal...

Effects of responsive stimulation and nutrition interventions on children's development and growth at age 4 years in a disadvantaged population in Pakistan: a longitudinal follow-up of a cluster-randomised factorial effectiveness trial.

A previous study in Pakistan assessed the effectiveness of delivering responsive stimulation and enhanced nutrition interventions to young children. Responsive stimulation significantly improved children's cognitive, language, and motor development at 2 years of age. Both interventions significantly improved parenting skills, with responsive stimulation showing larger effects. In this follow-up study, we investigated whether interventions had benefits on children's healthy development and care at 4 years of age. We implemented a follow-up study of the initial, community-based cluster-randomised effectiveness trial, which was conducted through the Lady Health Worker programme in Sindh, Pakistan. We re-enrolled 1302 mother-child dyads (87% of the 1489 dyads in the original enrolment) for assessment when the child was 4 years of age. The children were originally randomised in the following groups: nutrition education and multiple micronutrient powders (enhanced nutrition; n=311), responsive stimulation (n=345), combined responsive stimulation and enhanced nutrition (n=315), and routine health and nutrition services (control; n=331). The data collection team were masked to the allocated intervention. The original enrolment period included children born in the study area between April 1, 2009, and March 31, 2010, if they were up to 2·5 months old without signs of severe impairments. The primary endpoints for children were development and growth at 4 years of age. Interventions were given in monthly group sessions and in home visits. The primary endpoint for mothers was wellbeing and caregiving knowledge, practices, and skills when the child was 4 years of age. Analysis was by intention to treat. The original trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00715936. 1302 mother-child dyads were re-enrolled between Jan 1, 2013, and March 31, 2013, all of whom were followed up at 4 years of age. Children who received responsive stimulation (with or without enhanced nutrition) had significantly higher cognition, language, and motor skills at 4 years of age than children who did not receive responsive stimulation. For children who received responsive stimulation plus enhanced nutrition, effect sizes (Cohen's d) were 0·1 for IQ (mean difference from control 1·2, 95% CI -0·3 to 2·7), 0·3 for executive functioning (0·18, -0·07 to 0·29), 0·5 for pre-academic skills (7·53, 5·14 to 9·92) and 0·2 for pro-social behaviours (0·08, 0·03 to 0·13). For children who received responsive stimulation alone, effect sizes were 0·1 for IQ (mean difference with controls 1·7, -0·3 to 3·7), 0·3 for executive functioning (0·17, 0·07 to 0·27), 0·2 for pre-academic skills (3·86, 1·41 to 6·31), and 0·2 for pro-social behaviours (0·07, 0·02 to 0·12). Enhanced nutrition improved child motor development, with effect size of 0·2 for responsive stimulation plus enhanced nutrition (0·56, -0·03 to 1·15), and for enhanced nutrition alone (0·82, 0·18 to 1·46). Mothers who received responsive stimulation (with or without enhanced nutrition) had significantly better responsive caregiving behaviours at 4 years of child age than those who did not receive intervention. Effect size was 0·3 for responsive stimulation plus enhanced nutrition (1·95, 0·75 to 3·15) and 0·2 for responsive stimulation (2·01, 0·74 to 3·28). The caregiving environment had a medium effect size of 0·3 for all interventions (responsive stimulation plus enhanced nutrition 2·99, 1·50 to 4·48; responsive stimulation alone 2·82, 1·21 to 4·43; enhanced nutrition 3·52, 1·70 to 5·34). Responsive stimulation delivered in a community health service can improve child development and care, 2 years after the end of intervention. Future analyses of these data are needed to identify which children and families benefit more or less over time. Grand Challenges Canada.