title: Community health worker perspectives on a new primary health care initiative in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In 2010, South Africa's National Department of Health launched a national primary health care (PHC) initiative to strengthen health promotion, disease prevention, and early disease detection. The strategy, called Re-engineering Primary Health Care (rPHC), aims to provide a preventive and health-promoting community-based PHC model. A key component of rPHC is the use of community-based outreach teams staffed by generalist community health workers (CHWs).
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted focus group discussions and surveys on the knowledge and attitudes of 91 CHWs working on community-based rPHC teams in the King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) sub-district of Eastern Cape Province.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The CHWs we studied enjoyed their work and found it meaningful, as they saw themselves as agents of change. They also perceived weaknesses in the implementation of outreach team oversight, and desired field-based training and more supervision in the community.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a need to provide CHWs with basic resources like equipment, supplies and transport to improve their acceptability and credibility to the communities they serve.
authors.affiliation: International Women's Health Coalition, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7063-0759
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Austin-Evelyn
authors.affiliation: ICAP at Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.|Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rabkin
authors.affiliation: ICAP South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Tonderayi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Macheka
authors.affiliation: ICAP South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mutiti
authors.affiliation: Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa.|University of Witwatersrand, School of Clinical Medicine, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mwansa-Kambafwile
authors.affiliation: Eastern Cape Department of Health, Bisho, South Africa.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dlamini
authors.affiliation: ICAP at Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America.|Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York, United States of America.
authors.forename: Wafaa M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: El-Sadr
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003150:Community Health Workers / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D013019:South Africa; D055815:Young Adult