PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Anne Langston AU - Jennifer Weiss AU - Justine Landegger AU - Thomas Pullum AU - Melanie Morrow AU - Melene Kabadege AU - Catherine Mugeni AU - Eric Sarriot TI - Plausible role for CHW peer support groups in increasing care-seeking in an integrated community case management project in Rwanda: a mixed methods evaluation AID - 10.9745/GHSP-D-14-00067 DP - 2014 Aug 01 TA - Global Health: Science and Practice PG - 342--354 VI - 2 IP - 3 4099 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/2/3/342.short 4100 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/2/3/342.full SO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT2014 Aug 01; 2 AB - During national scale up of iCCM in Rwanda, greater improvements in care-seeking were found in the districts where Kabeho Mwana implemented its model than in the rest of the country. Success was attributed to an emphasis on routine data review, intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and, in particular, CHW peer support groups. Background: The Kabeho Mwana project (2006–2011) supported the Rwanda Ministry of Health (MOH) in scaling up integrated community case management (iCCM) of childhood illness in 6 of Rwanda's 30 districts. The project trained and equipped community health workers (CHWs) according to national guidelines. In project districts, Kabeho Mwana staff also trained CHWs to conduct household-level health promotion and established supervision and reporting mechanisms through CHW peer support groups (PSGs) and quality improvement systems. Methods: The 2005 and 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys were re-analyzed to evaluate how project and non-project districts differed in terms of care-seeking for fever, diarrhea, and acute respiratory infection symptoms and related indicators. We developed a logit regression model, controlling for the timing of the first CHW training, with the district included as a fixed categorical effect. We also analyzed qualitative data from the final evaluation to examine factors that may have contributed to improved outcomes. Results: While there was notable improvement in care-seeking across all districts, care-seeking from any provider for each of the 3 conditions, and for all 3 combined, increased significantly more in the project districts. CHWs contributed a larger percentage of consultations in project districts (27%) than in non-project districts (12%). Qualitative data suggested that the PSG model was a valuable sub-level of CHW organization associated with improved CHW performance, supervision, and social capital. Conclusions: The iCCM model implemented by Kabeho Mwana resulted in greater improvements in care-seeking than those seen in the rest of the country. Intensive monitoring, collaborative supervision, community mobilization, and CHW PSGs contributed to this success. The PSGs were a unique contribution of the project, playing a critical role in improving care-seeking in project districts. Effective implementation of iCCM should therefore include CHW management and social support mechanisms. Finally, re-analysis of national survey data improved evaluation findings by providing impact estimates.