Health extension officer

Last updated

Health extension officers or health extension workers (HEWs), are a category of health care providers found in some countries including Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia. [1] [2] They usually work in health centres in rural and medically underserved areas, where they see and treat patients and provide a range of community health services.

Contents

Papua New Guinea

In 1967 the Health Extension (HEO) program was transferred from the Papuan Medical College in Port Moresby to the College of Allied Health Sciences in Madang, formally known as the Paramedical College. In February 2002, the College of Allied Health Sciences amalgamated with the Faculty of Health Sciences at Divine Word University (DWU). It offered a three-year Diploma in Health Sciences (Health Extension) program. The three-year program was extended to four years of study in 2008 for an award in Bachelor of Health Sciences (Rural Health.

The Bachelor of Health Sciences (Rural Health) program is designed to equip students with the most current knowledge, skills, appropriate behaviours and attitudes to deliver an acceptable level of clinical healthcare, public health, administrative and management skills. The emphasis is focused on the rural areas where more than 80% of the nation’s population lives. The medical program places a special emphasis on training healthcare givers who can work with limited resources and often in the most isolated areas.

The HEOs are trained to work in the Rural Health Center. The study program is provided by the DWU. The program focuses on preparation for clinical and administrative practices in the rural areas of Papua New Guinea where health services are at most times neglected. The four-year training program includes theoretical study in medicine, minor surgery, pediatrics, obstetric and gynecology, health awareness, health research, rural health facility and health project management etc. Students are trained to manage in hospitals and health centers. The HEOs are responsible for patient care, the administration of the local health center, and the coordination of community health services.

Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, against a backdrop of acute physician shortage, Health Extension Workers are assigned to local health posts and provide a package of essential interventions to meet population health needs at this level. Through the national Health Extension Program, HEWs are recruited among high school graduates in local communities, and undergo a one-year training program to deliver a package of preventive and basic curative services that fall under four main components: hygiene and environmental sanitation; family health services; disease prevention and control; and health education and communication. [2]


See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General practitioner</span> Generalist medical doctor working in primary care

A general practitioner (GP) or family physician is a doctor who is a consultant in general practice.

A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of cancer cachexia. Many dietitians work in hospitals and usually see specific patients where a nutritional assessment and intervention has been requested by a doctor or nurse, for example if a patient has lost their ability to swallow or requires artificial nutrition due to intestinal failure. Dietitians are regulated healthcare professionals licensed to assess, diagnose, and treat such problems. In the United Kingdom, dietitian is a 'protected title', meaning identifying yourself as a dietitian without appropriate education and registration is prohibited by law.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth – HSC, Health Science Center, Health Science Center at Fort Worth – is an academic health science center in Fort Worth, Texas. It is part of the University of North Texas System and was founded in 1970 as the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, with its first cohort graduating in 1974. The Health Science Center consists of six schools with a total enrollment of 2,338 students (2022-23).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Health human resources</span> People acting to improve health outcomes

Health human resources (HHR) – also known as human resources for health (HRH) or health workforce – is defined as "all people engaged in actions whose primary intent is to enhance positive health outcomes", according to World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006. Human resources for health are identified as one of the six core building blocks of a health system. They include physicians, nursing professionals, pharmacists, midwives, dentists, allied health professions, community health workers, and other social service and health care providers.

Allied health professions (AHPs) are a category of health professionals that provide a range of diagnostic, preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative services in connection with health care. While there is no international standard for defining the diversity of allied health professions, they are typically considered those which are distinct from the fields of medicine, nursing and dentistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical laboratory scientist</span> Medical professional who works in the laboratory

A Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) or Clinical Laboratory Scientist (CLS) or Medical Technologist (MT) is a licensed Healthcare professional who performs diagnostic testing of body fluids, blood and other body tissue. The Medical Technologist is tasked with releasing the patient results to aid in further treatment. The scope of a medical laboratory scientist's work begins with the receipt of patient or client specimens and finishes with the delivery of test results to physicians and other healthcare providers. The utility of clinical diagnostic testing relies squarely on the validity of test methodology. To this end, much of the work done by medical laboratory scientists involves ensuring specimen quality, interpreting test results, data-logging, testing control products, performing calibration, maintenance, validation, and troubleshooting of instrumentation as well as performing statistical analyses to verify the accuracy and repeatability of testing. Medical laboratory scientists may also assist healthcare providers with test selection and specimen collection and are responsible for prompt verbal delivery of critical lab results. Medical Laboratory Scientists in healthcare settings also play an important role in clinical diagnosis. An estimated 70% of medical decisions are based on laboratory test results and MLS contributions affect 95% of a health system's costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiraz University of Medical Sciences</span>

Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS) is a public medical school located in Shiraz, Iran. Since its inauguration in 1946, SUMS has always been ranked among top medical schools in Iran.

Divine Word University is a national Catholic university in Papua New Guinea. It is one of the newest tertiary institutions in the country. It was established as a university by an Act of Parliament in 1996. The university is ecumenical and coeducational, and is under the leadership of the Divine Word Missionaries.

A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or social and human services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental disorders. This broad category was developed as a name for community personnel who worked in the new community mental health agencies begun in the 1970s to assist individuals moving from state hospitals, to prevent admissions, and to provide support in homes, jobs, education, and community. These individuals were the forefront brigade to develop the community programs, which today may be referred to by names such as supported housing, psychiatric rehabilitation, supported or transitional employment, sheltered workshops, supported education, daily living skills, affirmative industries, dual diagnosis treatment, individual and family psychoeducation, adult day care, foster care, family services and mental health counseling.

A health professional, healthcare professional, or healthcare worker is a provider of health care treatment and advice based on formal training and experience. The field includes those who work as a nurse, physician, physician assistant, registered dietitian, veterinarian, veterinary technician, optometrist, pharmacist, pharmacy technician, medical assistant, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dentist, midwife, psychologist, audiologist, or healthcare scientist, or who perform services in allied health professions. Experts in public health and community health are also health professionals.

University of Cincinnati Health is the healthcare system of the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio. It trains health care professionals and provides research and patient care. The system was formally affiliated via the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center (AHC).

Mid-level practitioners, also called non-physician practitioners, advanced practice providers, or commonly mid-levels are health care providers who assess, diagnose, and treat patients but do not have formal education or certification as a physician. The scope of a mid-level practitioner varies greatly among countries and even among individual practitioners. Some mid-level practitioners work under the close supervision of a physician, while others function independently and have a scope of practice difficult to distinguish from a physician. The legal scope of practice for mid-level practitioners varies greatly among jurisdictions, with some having a restricted and well-defined scope, while others have a scope similar to that of a physician. Likewise, the training requirement for mid-level practitioners varies greatly between and within different certifications and licensures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Medical University</span> Medical school in the UAE

Gulf Medical University (GMU) is a private medical university in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. Established in 1998, it is one of the largest private medical universities in the Middle East region. It has various programs in medicine and health sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Healthcare in Ethiopia</span>

As literacy and socioeconomic status improves in Ethiopia, the demand for quality service is also increasing. Besides, changes in the demographic trends, epidemiology and mushrooming urbanization require more comprehensive services covering a wide range and quality of curative, promotive and preventive services.

A clinical officer (CO) is a gazetted officer who is qualified and licensed to practice medicine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Community health worker</span> Type of informal health care provider

A community health worker (CHW) is a member of a community who provides basic health and medical care within their community, and is capable of providing preventive, promotional and rehabilitation care to that community, typically without formal education equal to that of a nurse, CHO, or doctor. They are chosen within the community to assist a train personnel community health extension worker who is train in college or schools of health. A community health extension worker (CHEW) is a specially trained professional who provides similar preventive, curative and rehabilitative health care and services to people where they live and work. CHEW are trained for three years and they graduate with a diploma, while the JCHEW are trained for two years and graduate with a certificate. Other terms for this type of health care provider include lay health worker, village health worker, community health aide, community health promoter, and health advisor.

The Greensboro Area Health Education Center changed its name to "Piedmont AHEC" on February 1, 2023. It is one of nine regional centers affiliated with the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program. It is administered by the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Greensboro AHEC serves healthcare professionals in an eight-county region including Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Guilford, Montgomery, Orange, Randolph and Rockingham by providing information resources to both practicing healthcare professionals and students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern University Bouvé College of Health Sciences</span> Private health college in Boston, Massachusetts, US

The Bouvé College of Health Sciences is the allied health education college of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. It encompasses four schools: School of Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, School of Nursing, School of Clinical and Rehabilitation Sciences, and School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The college offers more than 80 undergraduate and graduate programs, including its online-based accelerated nursing program. In addition to Boston, Bouvé College of Health Science programs are offered at satellite locations in Burlington, Massachusetts and Charlotte, North Carolina and online.

The Bureau of Health Workforce is a part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. HRSA programs train health care professionals and place them where they are needed most. Grants support scholarship and loan repayment programs at colleges and universities to meet critical workforce shortages and promote diversity within the health professions.

The College of Health and Medicine is a college of the University of Tasmania that incorporates the School of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Wicking Centre and Menzies Institute for Medical Research. The College incorporates medicine, pharmacy, psychology, paramedicine, nursing, laboratory medicine, allied health sciences and rural health into its curricula and research.

References

  1. ↑ "Bachelor of Health Sciences (Rural Health)". Divine Word University. Archived from the original on 2010-11-28. Retrieved 2011-09-07.
  2. 1 2 World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Alliance. Ethiopia's Human Resources for Health Programme. Geneva. Accessed 8 November 2011.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.