Community health workers and primary health care in Honduras

Community participation and utilization of community health workers (CHWs) are essential components of the primary health care model. The success of CHWs is dependent on their training and subsequent community support. Community-prepared nurses are ideal CHW educators. A training program for CHWs was implemented in Honduras emphasizing the principles of adult learning and problem-based learning. Following a 4-month program of training a primary health care clinic was opened and managed by CHWs for a population over 10,000. Approximately 80% of local health problems were managed by the CHWs proving that well-trained CHWs can have a significant impact on the delivery of health care.