A Self-Management Training Intervention: Perceptions and Practices of Community Health Workers in South Africa

Background. While community health workers (CHWs) are increasingly being used as a strategy for increasing health care access, particularly in rural communities, interventions are needed to improve their skill sets in inspiring health behavior change, both for themselves and among their community clients. Self-management (SM) education interventions have shown to improve health behaviors and well-being. Purpose. This article reports on systematic, in-depth interviews conducted with rural CHWs in South Africa to understand (1) their motivation for participating in SM training, (2) skills gained from training and (3) perceived impact of training on CHW health behavior, both personally and as health professionals. Method. Nineteen rural CHWs who completed an SM training participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews. Transcripts were independently coded by two researchers using the thematic framework approach. Findings. CHWs felt empowered to change their health behavior by skills such as goal setting and action planning, and by growth in self-awareness and confidence. They expressed that their desire to help others motivated them to participate in SM training. Conclusion. SM training programs that address practice skill gaps hold promise in producing health behavior changes for rural CHWs and their clients.