The Influence of the Levels of Education and Knowledge on the Performance of Community Health Workers in Soy Sub-County, Kenya (Published)
Community health workers (CHWs) the world over help to alleviate the shortages of health workers in the health sector. They are involved in the delivery of health services to the community and constitute the first point of contact on health-related issues in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The performance of CHWs is often hampered by various factors. The purpose of the study was to investigate the socio-cultural factors influencing the performance of CHWs in Soy Sub-County. Based on the study, this paper explores the influence of CHWs’ level of education and knowledge on their performance in Soy Sub-County. A correlation research design was used in the study with systematic sampling method being used to identify the respondents. In total, 98 respondents were given questionnaires to fill. Qualitative data was also collected from 7 heads of community health management team (CHMT) using key informant interviews. The collected data was then presented using frequency distribution tables while inferential statistics were computed using regression and correlation to determine the relationship between socio-cultural factors and performance of community health workers. Qualitative data was analysed manually to generate trends, sub-themes and themes from which conclusions were inferred regarding the performance of CHWs. The research findings showed that there was a significant (p= .000; α = 0.05) relationship that exists between education and knowledge and CHWs’ performance. Based on the findings, it was recommended that a strategy should be developed to incorporate all the stakeholders that affect the performance of community health workers in coming up with a training programme for CHWs. Moreover, there should be a policy shift in Kenya to encourage male CHW to scale up delivery of health services at community level. The findings of the study support decision-making on CHWs’ training programmes and also constitute the basis of transformation of implantation of community strategy in Soy Sub-County.
Keywords: Community Health Workers, Education, Influence, Kenya, Knowledge, Level, Performance, Soy Sub-County