Community Health Volunteers’ Role in the Control of Pediatric Infections

Study Context

The quality of childcare services in Kenya is highly variable. Innovative health policies and investment in proven interventions can improve child survival. A motivated Community Health Volunteer (CHV) is likely to be more effective in enhancing healthcare access and yield better child survival outcomes. However, optimizing CHV performance remains a global issue, especially in the absence of a consensus on appropriate performance incentives. While cash incentives for better service delivery have been widely researched, government resources are a major constraint and family health insurance (FHI) coverage is a plausible but understudied alternative. 

This study aims to evaluate the impact of health insurance coverage incentives on CHV performance in the control of pediatric infections in children under the age of five. Policymakers, planners, and implementers will benefit from understanding alternative policies that can best be accepted in their communities, thus maximizing CHV motivation and effectiveness.

Study Design

This study will collect data from two neighboring rural districts of Kenya, specifically in Rarieda (Siaya county) and Kombewa (Kisumu county). The experiment will involve two groups, with the one group receiving no incentives and another group receiving health insurance incentives. The performance of the two groups will then be evaluated. Individual-level randomization will help to measure the effect of health insurance incentives on the performance of CHVs in controlling pediatric infections in the study area. The primary outcome of the study will be the number of under-5 children referred, using prescribed tools, for further treatment for infectious diseases.