title: Village health-workers and GOBI-FFF. An evaluation of a rural programme.
abstract: Growth monitoring, oral rehydration, breast-feeding and immunisation--female education, family spacing and food supplementation (GOBI-FFF) are a selective package of World Health Organisation primary health care strategies recommended by UNICEF. Changes over a 1-year period in the implementation of the components of GOBI-FFF were investigated in a rural village in Ciskei to detect any changes associated with a newly modified village health-worker (VHW) programme. A baseline survey was conducted before the introduction of a modified VHW programme and a second survey took place a year later. The principles of GOBI-FFF were already familiar to and have since been increasingly practised by the community and health personnel. Breast-feeding is widespread, most carers know how to make oral rehydration solution and most children have a 'Road to Health' card and are being weighed regularly. However, malnutrition remains a major problem and the food supplementation programme is operating poorly. The high coverage of the community by the village health-workers and the clinic suggest that these two channels should be used more intensively to strengthen the GOBI-FFF programme in the area.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Epidemiological Research, South African Medical Research Council, Parowvallei, CP.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kuhn
authors.forename: M F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Zwarenstein
authors.forename: G C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yach
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Conradie
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hoogendoorn
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Katzenellenbogen
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D003150:Community Health Workers; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005440:Fluid Therapy; D006128:Growth; D006293:Health Promotion; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007223:Infant; D008499:Medical Records; D009035:Mothers; D012423:Rural Health; D013019:South Africa