Public and patients involvement in chronic illness care, a way to provide universal health coverage in poor resource setting - a case study

Lack of active community participation and inadequate human resources are challenges in caring chronic illness. Involving patients and publics in health care is an evidence-based strategy to overcome the above challenges. Department of Community and Family Medicine University of Jaffna has designed and evaluated a strategy. Three females were selected, trained and designated as Community Health Assistants (CHA) and financially supported by an NGO. Their performance was evaluated with mixed methods. CHAs supported clinics, education programs, home visits and some community-based N CD screening. CHAs found difficulties in working with some socio-economic groups and some categories of health care providers. They were interested in working in an institution-based setup. There were some problems in maintaining medical records. Satisfaction with each CHAs varied. The program could be improved by training the CHAs and a mechanism needs to be established to provide ongoing financial support.