Outreach services to improve access to health care in South Africa: lessons from three community health worker programmes

INTRODUCTION: In South Africa, there are renewed efforts to strengthen primary health care and community health worker (CHW) programmes. This article examines three South African CHW programmes, a small local non-governmental organisation (NGO), a local satellite of a national NGO, and a government-initiated service, that provide a range of services from home-based care, childcare, and health promotion to assist clients in overcoming poverty-related barriers to health care. METHODS: The comparative case studies, located in Eastern Cape and Gauteng, were investigated using qualitative methods. Thematic analysis was used to identify factors that constrain and enable outreach services to improve access to care. RESULTS: The local satellite (of a national NGO), successful in addressing multi-dimensional barriers to care, provided CHWs with continuous training focused on the social determinants of ill-health, regular context-related supervision, and resources such as travel and cell-phone allowances. These workers engaged with, and linked their clients to, agencies in a wide range of sectors. Relationships with participatory structures at community level stimulated coordinated responses from service providers. In contrast, an absence of these elements curtailed the ability of CHWs in the small NGO and government-initiated service to provide effective outreach services or to improve access to care. CONCLUSION: Significant investment in resources, training, and support can enable CHWs to address barriers to care by negotiating with poorly functioning government services and community participation structures.