African Community Health Nursing (Nursing focus) | 12 October 2007
Effectiveness of Community Health Workers in Malaria Control: A Systematic Review in West African Coastal Regions, Ghana
K, o, f, i, A, g, a, n, o, a, h, ,, A, b, e, n, a, K, y, e, i
Abstract
Malaria remains a significant public health issue in West African coastal regions of Ghana, despite ongoing efforts to control its spread. A comprehensive search strategy was employed using electronic databases such as PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science to identify relevant studies published between and . Studies were selected based on predefined inclusion criteria and assessed for methodological quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The review identified a significant improvement in malaria case detection rates among community members, with an estimated proportion increase of 35% over twelve months after CHW interventions. CHWs play a crucial role in malaria control and their effectiveness can be enhanced through continuous feedback loops to improve intervention strategies. Integrating CHWs into existing health systems is recommended, alongside the establishment of robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to ensure sustainable impact. Treatment effect was estimated with $\text{logit}(p<em>i)=\beta</em>0+\beta^\top X_i$, and uncertainty reported using confidence-interval based inference.