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Yale University

Publication Date

Spring 2016

Program Name

Jordan: Health and Community Development

Abstract

The health system in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, which hosts 1.4 million refugees from the Syrian Arab Republic—more than 636,000 of whom are registered with UNHCR—is over-extended (UNHCR, 2016). Non-governmental organizations fill gaps in service delivery by injecting health personnel to deliver care, however, nationals and refugees must be integrated in the response to ensure sustainable health care delivery (UNHCR Handbook for Emergencies, 2007). Leveraging the capacities of lay citizens and refugees by task shifting and training CHVs can alleviate the increased health burden. Research into training programs is significant because the quality of training is directly related to the effectiveness of CHVs. This research project investigated the training of CHVs serving refugee communities, as perceived by the trainees and the trainers. The objectives of the study were to characterize the process of training CHVs, assess the extent to which the training programs build their capacities and prepare them to fulfill their responsibilities, and identify the perceived areas of improvement for the training process. The researcher formed a relationship with Noor Al-Hussein Foundation Institute of Family Health in Amman to administered questionnaires to CHVs as well as conducted interviews with trainers. The findings indicate that the trainings adhere to standards and manuals developed by donors that operate under the same mandates concerning training CHVs. However, participants and trainers reported that a wider array of topics, longer trainings to cover more in-depth information, and increased resources to allow for use of effective techniques would improve the quality of the trainings and build the capacity of CHVs. This study can inform process improvement if applied by training institutions. Additionally, research field is important to policy makers who can apply findings to advocate for scale-up of CHV programs and increased investment in the capacities of human resources.

Disciplines

Health Services Research | Near and Middle Eastern Studies | Public Health

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