Role of community health volunteers in education and promotion of birth preparedness to support maternal healthcare services in the Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya

Abstract

Background/Aims Community health volunteers are used in healthcare in low- and middle-income countries around the world, based on the idea of task-shifting. Task-shifting is a strategy for making efficient use of human resources, addressing the health worker shortage and increasing universal access to healthcare. This strategy has been adopted in the Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya to provide healthcare services to refugees. The role of community health volunteers in maternal healthcare in the refugee camp has not been clearly described. This study aimed to determine the roles of community health volunteers in providing maternal education and promoting birth preparedness in the Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya. Methods This mixed-method descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the IFO-1 camp, in the Dadaab refugee complex. Simple random and purposive sampling were used to recruit 74 community health volunteers and five key informants (sector heads of department working with community health volunteers) respectively. The participants were interviewed using questionnaires and key informant interviews. Data were analysed descriptively and thematically. Results The community health volunteers provided education services: maternal education was provided by 93% of the community health volunteers who participated in the study. All respondents engaged women and families in birth preparations and conducted home visits, with 66 (89%) community health volunteers conducting more than two antenatal care home visits per client and assessing birth preparedness levels. However, there were variations in training on maternal healthcare and birth preparation information, with 21 (28%) of the community health volunteers having no training at all. Conclusions Despite a lack of training, community health volunteers played a significant role in supporting the provision of maternal health services in the Dadaab refugee camp through health education and promotion of birth preparedness. Community health volunteers need training on maternal healthcare to strengthen community maternal health education and birth preparedness.