Utilisation of village health workers' services for tuberculosis screening in Lesotho

Village health workers (VHWs) play an essential role because they extend the capacity of primary healthcare, particularly for developing countries. In Lesotho, VHWs are part of the primary healthcare connecting the community with clinics in their respective villages. They contribute to the prevention of the spread of tuberculosis (TB) within their catchment areas by encouraging communities to partake in TB screening. This study aimed at identifying factors associated with the utilisation of VHWs' service to undertake TB screenings in Lesotho. Methods: This study emanates from the main study that used a cross-sectional descriptive design. A total of 19 health service areas (HSAs) comprised 17 catchment areas and two clinics, each randomly selected from the District Health Management Team (DHMT) and the Lesotho Flying Doctors Service (LFDS), respectively. A total of 2928 individual household members aged 15 and above were included in the study. Data analysis included descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: There were more female than male respondents, with a majority (77%) below 65 years of age. Tuberculosis knowledge of respondents was mostly on the TB symptoms and curability of TB, but they were less knowledgeable about the causes of TB. The use of VHWs' services for TB screening was very low (23.3%). Conclusion: The study revealed that while respondents were to some extent knowledgeable about TB, their utilisation of VHWs' services for TB screening varied with education level, having worked in South Africa and the household size at α = 0.01.

Assessment of tuberculosis knowledge among Lesotho village health workers and utilisation of their tuberculosis services by the communities they serve

Background: The role of village health workers (VHWs), among other roles is to educate communities about tuberculosis (TB), TB screening and its treatment. The knowledge of TB among VHWs is crucial because they will carry out their role at the community well and this will impact the overall outcome of TB treatment. Aim: The study is aimed at assessing the knowledge of TB among VHWs and households at the village level and the utilisation of VHWs' TB services. Setting: The study took place in 19 health centres from 10 districts of Lesotho. Methods: The study used a cross-sectional descriptive design. Three study populations were interviewed, two at the household level (2040 households, 8295 individuals) and one at the clinic level (723 VHW). Results: Overall, TB knowledge among VHWs for the majority of clinics except two was inadequate (below mean of 31.5). The utilisation of VHWs' TB services among community members was also low. Conclusion: Low utilisation of VHWs' TB services by community members emanated from inadequate TB knowledge of VHWs. Regular refresher training among VHWs is recommended as the way forward in order to keep VHWs abreast with new TB developments