Community Health Worker (CHW) Regina Lthusi credits her passion for her work to her “motherly heart.”
“I feel good being a woman CHW because I start from my own family and then go into the community,” she said. “As a CHW, I know that this is important because there are people who can’t reach healthcare providers.”
Lthusi lives in Kenya, where there is only one physician per 1,000 people in a country of over 54 million, many of whom live in hard-to-reach places. And hypertension and diabetes – conditions she screens for and assesses – are major health concerns, with cardiovascular disease among the leading causes of death.
Bridging the Gap
Healthcare delivered at the community level via community health workers like Lthusi has been disconnected from care delivered within formal health systems. At Medtronic LABS, we work with health systems to strengthen and extend care delivery into local communities to bridge the community and facility disconnect.
With SPICE-enabled care models, the patient journey is seamless regardless of whether they visit a facility, receive an SMS, talk on the phone with a provider, or welcome a visit from a community health worker.
Closing the loop between facilities and communities is one of the keys to driving treatment plan adherence and ultimately health outcomes.
Women at the Forefront
Achieving gender equality and women’s well-being in all aspects of life is more crucial than ever if we want to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet, according to UN Women.
And the majority of community health workers – at least 70% – are women, according to the Community Health Impact Coalition.
At Medtronic LABS, we see firsthand the impact women like Lthusi have in expanding access to healthcare across the globe and join the call to invest in women to accelerate progress.
Meet more women on the frontlines of healthcare.
