Impact of Integration of Severe Acute Malnutrition Treatment in Primary Health Care Provided by Community Health Workers in Rural Niger

The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness and impact on treatment coverage of integrating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) treatment at the health hut level by community health workers (CHWs). This study was a non-randomized controlled trial, including two rural communes in the health distr...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Abdias Ogobara Dougnon, Pilar Charle-Cuéllar, Fanta Toure, Abdoul Aziz Gado, Atté Sanoussi, Ramatoulaye Hamidou Lazoumar, Georges Alain Tchamba, Antonio Vargas, Noemi Lopez-Ejeda
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/b9175ab37150436fbfe457d4d13a9f42
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
Descripción
Sumario:The present study aimed to assess the effectiveness and impact on treatment coverage of integrating severe acute malnutrition (SAM) treatment at the health hut level by community health workers (CHWs). This study was a non-randomized controlled trial, including two rural communes in the health district of Mayahi: Maïreyreye (control) and Guidan Amoumoune (intervention). The control group received outpatient treatment for uncomplicated SAM from health facilities (HFs), while the intervention group received outpatient treatment for uncomplicated SAM from HFs or CHWs. A total of 2789 children aged 6–59 months with SAM without medical complications were included in the study. The proportion of cured children was 72.1% in the control group, and 77.2% in the intervention group. Treatment coverage decreased by 8.3% in the control area, while the group of CHWs was able to mitigate that drop and even increase coverage by 3%. This decentralized treatment model of acute malnutrition with CHWs allowed an increase in treatment coverage while maintaining a good quality of care. It also allowed the early inclusion of children in less severe conditions. These results may enhance the Niger Ministry of Health to review the management of SAM protocol and allow CHWs to treat acute malnutrition.