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Acceptability and Feasibility of Provision of COVID-19 Services by Community Health Workers to Remote Gold Mining Communities in Suriname
Stephen Vreden
Stephen Vreden
Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific Research in Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname;
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Marieke Heemskerk
Marieke Heemskerk
Social Solutions, Paramaribo, Suriname;
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Hélène Hiwat
Hélène Hiwat
Malaria Program, Ministry of Health Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname
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Hedley Cairo
Hedley Cairo
Malaria Program, Ministry of Health Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname
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Gold mining communities in the Amazon region typically have limited access to public health services. In Suriname, the Ministry of Health Malaria Program (MoH-MP) works with community health workers (CHWs), people from mining communities without a formal medical degree, to provide malaria diagnostic and treatment services. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the MoH-MP trained 21 of these CHWs in COVID-19 outreach and testing, using rapid antigen tests for symptomatic persons in their communities; afterward, a mixed methods research approach was used to investigate whether including COVID-19 services in the tasks of the CHWs was feasible and accepted among gold mining populations. Also, CHWs took part in active case detection missions to proactively offer COVID-19 testing to all inhabitants of specific mining areas, regardless of symptoms. In the 6 months of field implementation (May–October 2022), 1,300 persons were tested for COVID-19, among whom 28.7% were women. Eight percent tested positive. Of the 312 asymptomatic persons tested, 2.2% tested positive. Qualitative semi-structured interviews with the CHWs and quantitative pre- and postintervention surveys revealed that the communities appreciated the nearby and free COVID-19 testing opportunity. The intervention motivated individuals who otherwise would not have been tested to test for COVID-19. Twenty-nine percent of those who had tested at least once for COVID-19 reported that their most recent test was conducted through the services of the CHWs. The results suggest that integrating COVID-19 testing into other CHW services can lower health access barriers in difficult-to-reach populations in remote communities.
Author Notes
Financial support: This study was supported through FIND, through a grant FIND received from the
Current contact information: Stephen Vreden, Foundation for the Advancement of Scientific Research in Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname, E-mail: stephenvreden@yahoo.com. Marieke Heemskerk, Social Solutions, Paramaribo, Suriname, E-mail: mheemskerk@yahoo.com. Hélène Hiwat and Hedley Cairo, Malaria Program, Ministry of Health Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname, E-mails: helenevanlaar@gmail.com and hedleycairo@gmail.com.
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