Buser Julie M, Bakari Ashura, Moyer Cheryl A
Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, Global REACH, University of Michigan Medical School, Victor Vaughan Building, 2nd Floor, 1111 East Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
Ghana Health Service, Suntreso Government Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
J Community Genet. 2021 Jan;12(1):155-161. doi: 10.1007/s12687-020-00501-4. Epub 2021 Jan 5.
Globally, sickle cell disease (SCD) is a common, yet often neglected, non-communicable disease. Community health worker (CHW) interventions have been shown to improve outcomes for chronic diseases but have not been evaluated with SCD. This study assessed the interest in and feasibility of establishing a network of CHWs to support care of people with SCD in Kumasi, Ghana. Using in-depth interviews with key stakeholders (N = 15) identified through purposive and snowball sampling from January to March 2020, we gathered focused information about interest in and feasibility of establishing a network of CHWs. Respondents were chosen for their knowledge and oversight of health services for people with SCD. Latent content analysis was used to examine the data. Participants expressed interest in establishing a network of CHWs to better support care for people with SCD. Three primary themes emerged from the data: (1) support by CHWs could be beneficial for people with SCD; (2) using existing CHW networks for SCD services would be best; and (3) funding of expanded CHW network might be a problem. We advocate for the mobilization of resources to expand the current network of CHWs to include a focus on SCD in Kumasi, Ghana. Participants believe that it is feasible to use CHWs to improve care outcomes of people with SCD. There is potential for findings from this exploratory project to be adapted and implemented in other settings throughout sub-Saharan Africa, as well as areas of higher income countries where there are higher proportions of people living with sickle cell.
在全球范围内，镰状细胞病（SCD）是一种常见但往往被忽视的非传染性疾病。社区卫生工作者（CHW）干预已被证明可改善慢性病的治疗效果，但尚未在镰状细胞病中进行评估。本研究评估了在加纳库马西建立社区卫生工作者网络以支持镰状细胞病患者护理的兴趣和可行性。通过2020年1月至3月的目的抽样和滚雪球抽样确定了关键利益相关者（N = 15），并对其进行深入访谈，我们收集了关于建立社区卫生工作者网络的兴趣和可行性的重点信息。受访者因其对镰状细胞病患者卫生服务的了解和监督而被选中。采用潜在内容分析法对数据进行审查。参与者对建立社区卫生工作者网络以更好地支持镰状细胞病患者的护理表示感兴趣。数据中出现了三个主要主题：（1）社区卫生工作者的支持对镰状细胞病患者可能有益；（2）利用现有的社区卫生工作者网络提供镰状细胞病服务是最好的；（3）扩大社区卫生工作者网络的资金可能是个问题。我们主张调动资源，扩大目前的社区卫生工作者网络，使其在加纳库马西关注镰状细胞病。参与者认为利用社区卫生工作者改善镰状细胞病患者的护理效果是可行的。这个探索性项目的研究结果有可能在撒哈拉以南非洲的其他地区以及镰状细胞病患者比例较高的高收入国家地区进行调整和实施。
