PhD Confirmation Seminar Teralynn Ludwick

Implementing effective community health worker programs to address health disparities among the urban poor in low- and middle-income countries

Primary health systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are struggling to respond to the growing needs of the urban poor in the context of rapid urbanization, acute health worker shortages and resource constraints. Community health worker (CHW) programs, which rely on brief training of lay individuals, have been extensively implemented in LMICs as a means to address health disparities and health service gaps, primarily in rural settings. However, the lack of evidence on urban CHW programs has been identified by the Global Health Workforce Alliance as critical gap in strategies for achieving universal health coverage. This PhD project will explore the opportunities and challenges that arise when adapting the CHW model to the urban context

Supervisors:

Prof. Barbara McPake & Dr. Alison Morgan

Nossal Institute for Global Health, Melbourne School of Population & Global Health

Prof. Margaret Kelaher

Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population & Global Health

Teralynn Ludwick has worked across the fields of international development, research, and global health, including with the International Development Research Centre, the Association of African Universities, Healthy Child Uganda, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Canadian International Development Agency. Her past research and work has focused on community health worker programs, non-communicable disease prevention, and implementation science