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An Analysis of the Services Provided by Municipal Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in an Urban District in South Africa: A Key Contribution Towards Universal Access to Care.
Leena Susan Thomas
Gauteng Department of Health and SHSPH, University of Pretoria
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5721-5569
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Introduction:
Municipal Ward based PHC Outreach Teams are potential game-changers in ensuring access to care in vulnerable communities. Who are they? What do they actually do? Can they help South Africa realize universal health coverage?
Methods:
Descriptive secondary data analysis of team activities in the Ekurhuleni health district, South Africa covering approximately 280 000 households with one million people. This was part of a larger study exploring the effectiveness of these teams.
Results:
Study findings illustrated that CHWs in these teams provided early screening and referrals for pregnant women and malnourished children. They distributed condoms and chronic medication to homes. They screened and referred for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, HIV and TB. The teams also undertook defaulter and contact tracing, the majority of which was for HIV & TB clients. Psychosocial support provided was in the form of access to social grants, access to child and gender based violence protection services, food parcels and other services.
Conclusion:
Community Health Workers form the core of these teams and perform several health and psychosocial services in households and to poor communities in South Africa, in addition to general health education. The teams studied provided a range of activities across many health conditions (mother & child related, HIV & TB, non-communicable diseases), as well as social services. Ward based outreach teams provided comprehensive care in a large-scale urban setting and can improve access to care.
Keywords
community health worker, outreach teams, large-scale comprehensive care, health & psychosocial activities
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Posted 21 Sep, 2020
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Review #2 received
Received 09 Dec, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 09 Dec, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 08 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 01 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 01 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 28 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 20 Sep, 2020
First submitted
On 16 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Sep, 2020
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On 15 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 15 Sep, 2020
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Subject Areas
Health Economics & Outcomes Research
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This preprint is under consideration at Human Resources for Health. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Learn more about In Review
Research
An Analysis of the Services Provided by Municipal Ward Based Primary Health Care Outreach Teams in an Urban District in South Africa: A Key Contribution Towards Universal Access to Care.
Leena Susan Thomas
Gauteng Department of Health and SHSPH, University of Pretoria
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5721-5569
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Revision
Version 1
Posted 21 Sep, 2020
No community comments so far
Review #2 received
Received 09 Dec, 2020
Editorial decision: Major revision
On 09 Dec, 2020
Review #3 received
Received 08 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #4 agreed
On 01 Dec, 2020
Review #1 received
Received 01 Dec, 2020
Reviewer #3 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #2 agreed
On 23 Nov, 2020
Reviewer #1 agreed
On 28 Sep, 2020
Reviewers invited
Invitations sent on 20 Sep, 2020
First submitted
On 16 Sep, 2020
Editor assigned
On 16 Sep, 2020
Submission checks complete
On 15 Sep, 2020
Editor invited
On 15 Sep, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
Subject Areas
Health Economics & Outcomes Research
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Introduction:
Municipal Ward based PHC Outreach Teams are potential game-changers in ensuring access to care in vulnerable communities. Who are they? What do they actually do? Can they help South Africa realize universal health coverage?
Methods:
Descriptive secondary data analysis of team activities in the Ekurhuleni health district, South Africa covering approximately 280 000 households with one million people. This was part of a larger study exploring the effectiveness of these teams.
Results:
Study findings illustrated that CHWs in these teams provided early screening and referrals for pregnant women and malnourished children. They distributed condoms and chronic medication to homes. They screened and referred for hypertension, diabetes mellitus, HIV and TB. The teams also undertook defaulter and contact tracing, the majority of which was for HIV & TB clients. Psychosocial support provided was in the form of access to social grants, access to child and gender based violence protection services, food parcels and other services.
Conclusion:
Community Health Workers form the core of these teams and perform several health and psychosocial services in households and to poor communities in South Africa, in addition to general health education. The teams studied provided a range of activities across many health conditions (mother & child related, HIV & TB, non-communicable diseases), as well as social services. Ward based outreach teams provided comprehensive care in a large-scale urban setting and can improve access to care.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13