Examining the implementation of the Kenya Community Health Strategy in urban informal settlements     

The Kenya Community Health Strategy (CHS) is a plan to expand community access to healthcare which includes the use of community health volunteers (CHVs). The CHS has had varying degrees of success and there are ongoing discussions on how to strengthen it. There is limited information on implementation of the CHS in urban informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, where there are high rates of poverty and high levels of disease.

We will use a qualitative exploratory approach to focus on four large slums in Nairobi County to understand what influences the performance of CHVs. Individual and group interviews will be conducted with healthcare staff at sub-national and community level. These will be supplemented with observations and document reviews. Data will be analysed using framework analysis. 

The findings from this work will have direct relevance on ongoing policy discussions and strategies on how to strengthen the role of CHVs to attain universal health coverage. Findings will also inform potential future intervention studies on the effectiveness of CHVs to support the recovery of children after they have been in hospital.