Improving Access to Healthcare in Rural Zambia

Training New Volunteers

Over the past three months we have begun to train 15 brand new Community Health Workers. Nurses from the villages around the three Rural Health Centres had been involved in identifying suitable volunteers.

Their first residential training week was held at the start of November in Livingstone with 15 participants travelling from outlying villages to participate in the training. On Call Africa's volunteer doctors led the training, alongside the nurses from the local rural health centres.

Training Curriculum

The training workshops comprised full day sessions on three areas of clinical concern

• Serious illness
• Respiratory disease
• Gastrointestinal disease

The resources and methods used during each day have been previously trailed and tested in our context. Manuals and training materials were printed for the individual participants. The CHW training sessions used a variety of approaches: including group lectures, discussion groups, visual aids and videos.

Initial assessment of progress was made through face-to-face techniques including workplace based assessment and multi-choice tests. This first training week provided the opportunity to collect some baseline data on CHW knowledge and rate of progress in acquiring knowledge and skills.

Next Steps

During the next three months we will assess how many of those commencing training should continue through to the second residential training week. The new CHWS will be supported in assisting patients in their communities, with the support of the nurses from the RHCs and On Call Africa’s team of volunteers and gradually given increased responsibilities. Their second residential training week is booked for the end of March 2019: Sessions will comprise: musculoskeletal problems; malaria; and nutrition. This will be followed by further residential training weeks in June 2019 and October 2019.