A Situation Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Preparedness in Supporting Health System Response to COVID-19 in Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda

Abstract

Background: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused socio-economic disruptions across the globe. The pandemic disrupted the health system (HS) calling for reengineering in response to high infection rates, deaths, and resultant containment measures. To deal with COVID-19 and promote resilience, community health workers (CHWs) were engaged across countries. Objective: Assess the preparedness of CHWs in supporting health system response in prevention and management of COVID-19 in Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda. Methods: A mixed methods design study involving national and subnational jurisdictions in the 3 countries. Key informant interviews were conducted with policy actors (16) and health care workers (24) while in-depth interviews involved CHWs (14) and community members (312) subjected to survey interviews. Results: Most (>50%) households survived on