Resource Spotlight: Evaluation of a Well-Established Task-Shifting Initiative: The Lay Counselor Cadre in Botswana


 
Counseling in job descriptions
Counseling in job descriptions

While evidence supports task shifting to address health worker shortages, there is a need to learn from large-scale, established programs to identify ways to achieve the largest, most sustainable impact. Several recent literature reviews have highlighted this gap in the literature and accentuated the need to better understand how to make the best use of the task-shifting approach and how to use task shifting to achieve the strongest impact.

This study examined the role of lay counselors in the provision of HIV services in Botswana's health facilities from 2002 to 2010 to identify factors related to the effectiveness of the cadre and their contribution to the health workforce. Specifically, the objectives of this evaluation were to: describe the demographic characteristics and duties of the lay counselor cadre; examine the performance of the lay counselors in terms of their knowledge, skills, and their contribution to the health workforce; and explore factors related to the performance of the cadre. [from author]

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The HRH Global Resource Center has other resources on this topic including:

For additional resources on this topic, visit the Task Shifting and HIV/AIDS subject categories.

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