10-15
• Books and other educational materials. Easy-
to-use reference books or pamphlets can be important tools
for self-education. Health workers can use them to continue
learning about health care, farming techniques, animal
breeding, veterinary care, community organization, theater
and puppet shows, teaching methods, and other subjects.
Health programs often help health workers obtain these
materials at low cost.
Many countries now have
resource centers that distribute
books and educational materials.
Examples are TALC in England,
ASECSA in Guatemala, and VHAI
in India. (See p. Back-3.)
• Local newsletters. A number of
health programs and community
groups produce newsletters
for village health workers. These
are usually simply written and well
illustrated. They include health
information as well as new ideas
and approaches that health workers
in the area have tried. Good
examples of such newsletters
are El Informador, produced by the
Regional Committee for Community
Health Promotion in Central America,
a community-based newsletter
from the Philippines
AKAP Diary, published by a network
of community-based programs in the Philippines, and Medico Friends Bulletin,
produced by VHAI in India. For more ideas on village news sheets and how to
prepare them, see pages 16-12 to 16-17.
• Refresher courses and continued training. These can be even more
important than the initial training course. Some programs ask health workers to
return for group learning sessions one day each week. (In one program, workers
must attend weekly sessions in order to continue receiving medicines from
the program.) Other programs conduct a 2 to 3 week refresher course, once or
twice a year. The approach you decide to use will depend on the distance health
workers must travel to the training center, whether they work full time or part
time, the seasons for planting and harvesting, and other factors.
• Apprenticeship opportunities. The villager-run program in Ajoya, Mexico
invites health workers to visit the training and referral center whenever they can.
During these visits the health workers help the central team with consultations,
care of the sick, training courses, work in the vegetable garden, and community
activities. This is a more intimate way of learning than is possible during a large
training course. It is especially helpful for persons who have difficulty with
classroom learning. One program in Honduras requires a special follow-up
apprenticeship for each student who did not learn well during the training course.