African Occupational Medicine | 16 June 2007
Training Community Health Workers for Malaria Control in Northern Ghana: A Comparative Study
O, m, o, t, u, m, a, K, o, t, o, ,, M, a, k, u, m, b, e, T, s, o, t, s, o, ,, S, h, i, k, o, n, g, o, M, a, l, u, a, ,, C, h, i, r, w, a, M, a, w, e, n, i
Abstract
Malaria remains a significant public health concern in northern Ghanaian villages, despite ongoing efforts to control its transmission through vector management and community engagement. A quasi-experimental design was employed, with CHWs in 20 selected villages receiving comprehensive malaria control training. Baseline and post-intervention surveys were conducted among villagers using a structured Likert scale questionnaire. CHW-led interventions resulted in an uplift of 45% in the proportion of villagers who correctly identified malaria transmission vectors, compared to those trained through conventional methods (p < 0.001). Training CHWs significantly enhanced their effectiveness in educating villagers on malaria prevention and control. Continued training programmes should be integrated into broader health initiatives to sustain the benefits observed. Malaria, Community Health Workers, Training Effectiveness, Vector Control, Quasi-Experimental Design 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.