Capturing the most significant change after a work-training program for community health workers.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Workforce Development
• Qualitative Research Methods

Background:

• Community health workers (CHWs) play a vital role in healthcare delivery.
• Work-training programs aim to enhance CHW capacity and effectiveness.
• Understanding CHW experiences and influencing factors is crucial for program improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine changes experienced by CHWs after a nine-month work-training program.
• To identify enabling and disabling factors influencing these changes.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique in capturing program impact.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique.
• Data collection through individual interviews (N=9) and focus groups (N=7) with CHWs.
• Analysis of participant-selected stories to identify significant changes and influencing factors.

Main Results:

• Significant changes included increased knowledge, improved social skills and attitudes, enhanced career prospects, expanded social networks, and greater social recognition.
• Key enabling factors were mentoring, peer learning, peer support, and experience-based learning.
• Participants favored stories that were recognizable, inspirable, or admirable.

Conclusions:

• The nine-month training program positively impacted CHWs' personal and professional development.
• The MSC technique effectively highlights positive program outcomes and can drive program advancement.
• Future evaluations should incorporate vertical (coordinator) and horizontal (peer) story selection for comprehensive insights.