• David Musoke, Rawlance Ndejjo, Edwinah Atusingwize, Trasias Mukama, Charles Ssemugabo, and Linda Gibson.
• Department of Disease Control and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda.
• Afr Health Sci. 2019 Sep 1; 19 (3): 2784-2797.

BackgroundCommunity health workers (CHWs) continue to play a crucial role in supporting health service delivery globally. Several CHW programmes around the world face vast challenges which affect their performance.ObjectivesThis study assessed the performance of CHWs and associated factors in a rural community in Wakiso district, Uganda.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study that employed a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 201 CHWs in Wakiso district. The main study variable was CHW performance based on various roles carried out by CHWs. Multivariable logistic regression in STATA was used to establish the predictors of CHW performance.ResultsOnly 40 (19.9%) of the CHWs had a high performance which was associated with having attended additional / refresher trainings [AOR=12.79 (95% CI: 1.02-159.26)], and having attained secondary level education and above [AOR=3.93 (95% CI: 1.17-13.24)]. CHWs who were married [AOR=0.29 (95% CI: 0.09-0.94)] were less likely to perform highly. Among CHWs who had received essential medicines for treatment of childhood illnesses, the majority 90.3% (112/124) had experienced stock-outs in the 6 months preceding the study. Despite the majority of CHWs, 198 (98.5%), stating that being motivated was very important in their work, only 91 (45%) said that they were motivated.ConclusionAdditional / refresher trainings are necessary to enhance performance of CHWs. In addition, level of education should be considered while selecting CHWs. The health system challenges of low motivation of CHWs as well as stock-out of medicines need to be addressed to support their work.© 2019 Musoke et al.

22 keywords...

hide…