Course Introduction
Community health workers play a vital role in connecting households and communities with primary healthcare services, particularly in underserved, remote, and resource-constrained settings. They contribute to health promotion, disease prevention, early identification of health concerns, referrals, community mobilization, follow-up, and health information collection. Measuring their performance systematically helps health programmes determine whether community health services are accessible, timely, appropriate, equitable, and responsive to local needs. This course equips participants with practical methods for assessing community health worker performance and using the results to strengthen service delivery, workforce support, accountability, and community health outcomes.
Effective performance measurement requires more than counting household visits, referrals, health talks, or reports submitted. It involves examining the quality of interactions, adherence to approved protocols, completion of assigned tasks, referral outcomes, data accuracy, community satisfaction, and the support available to workers. Participants will learn to distinguish inputs, activities, outputs, service quality, outcomes, and broader health impacts. They will explore how performance indicators can be aligned with job descriptions, programme objectives, national community health strategies, and local service delivery priorities, while recognizing that appropriate measures depend on the responsibilities, workload, and operating conditions of each community health worker cadre.
The course introduces practical approaches to developing performance indicators, establishing baselines, setting realistic targets, selecting data sources, and defining measurement schedules. Participants will examine information from household registers, community health information systems, supervision checklists, referral records, facility registers, training assessments, attendance records, and community feedback mechanisms. They will learn to assess data completeness, consistency, validity, timeliness, and usefulness for decision-making. Particular attention will be given to indicator definitions, numerators and denominators, reporting periods, disaggregation, and documentation requirements so that performance results can be interpreted consistently across workers, supervisors, facilities, districts, and programme implementation periods.
A central component of the training focuses on assessing service quality and worker competencies. Participants will explore methods such as structured observation, case scenarios, knowledge assessments, record reviews, client exit interviews, household feedback, and supportive supervisory visits. They will learn to evaluate communication skills, respectful care, confidentiality, correct counselling, appropriate recognition of danger signs, referral practices, and adherence to authorized scopes of practice. The course also examines contextual factors that influence performance, including access to medicines and supplies, transport, workload, supervisor availability, training opportunities, digital connectivity, remuneration, and community acceptance. This broader perspective helps distinguish individual skill gaps from system constraints that require management action.
Performance measurement is most useful when findings lead to constructive feedback and measurable improvements. Participants will learn to analyse trends, identify performance gaps, compare results fairly, and investigate variations across locations and population groups. They will practise preparing dashboards, scorecards, performance summaries, and action plans that help supervisors and programme managers prioritize coaching, refresher training, supply support, workflow improvements, and referral coordination. The course emphasizes supportive supervision and continuous learning, discouraging punitive approaches or simplistic rankings that overlook difficult working environments, unequal caseloads, incomplete resources, and differences in community needs. Performance incentives and targets should be designed carefully to avoid encouraging inaccurate reporting, unnecessary service contacts, or neglect of complex cases.
By the end of the training, participants will be better prepared to establish practical performance measurement systems that combine quantitative indicators with qualitative evidence and community perspectives. They will understand how to protect personal information, maintain transparent assessment procedures, communicate findings responsibly, and use results to improve workforce planning and service quality. Participants will also learn to link worker-level performance information with broader primary healthcare objectives without attributing population health changes to community health workers alone. These capabilities can strengthen accountability, professional development, retention, community confidence, and the contribution of community health programmes to accessible, equitable, people-centred healthcare.
Duration
5 days
Who Should Attend
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National and subnational community health programme managers responsible for workforce performance and programme implementation.
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Monitoring and evaluation officers designing performance indicators, measurement frameworks, and reporting systems.
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Community health supervisors and team leaders conducting supportive supervision, coaching, and performance reviews.
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District, county, and local health officials coordinating community-based primary healthcare services.
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Community health workers and community health promoters seeking to understand performance standards and professional development requirements.
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Public health officers responsible for service quality, community outreach, and health promotion activities.
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Health information system officers managing community health data platforms, registers, and reporting procedures.
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Primary healthcare facility managers coordinating referrals and integrating community health workers into facility teams.
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Human resources for health specialists involved in workforce planning, appraisal, retention, and career development.
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Data analysts and statisticians supporting performance dashboards, trend analysis, and programme reviews.
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Training institutions and capacity-building specialists developing competency assessments and refresher training programmes.
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NGO and civil society programme staff implementing community health and outreach interventions.
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Donor programme officers and development partners assessing community health programme performance and accountability.
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Quality improvement officers strengthening service standards, supervision processes, and continuous improvement initiatives.
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Research and evaluation professionals assessing community health worker effectiveness, community experience, and service delivery outcomes.
Course Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
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Explain the principles of community health worker performance measurement and distinguish workforce inputs, activities, outputs, service quality, outcomes, and population-level impacts.
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Develop context-appropriate performance indicators aligned with job descriptions, community health priorities, national strategies, and the authorized responsibilities of different worker cadres.
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Establish clear indicator definitions, baselines, targets, data sources, reporting periods, disaggregation requirements, and calculation procedures for consistent performance assessment.
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Apply appropriate data collection and verification methods using community registers, digital reporting systems, supervision tools, referral records, competency assessments, and community feedback.
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Assess service quality, technical competencies, communication, confidentiality, respectful care, protocol adherence, and referral practices using structured and evidence-based methods.
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Analyse performance trends and variations across workers, facilities, locations, and population groups while considering workload, case complexity, available resources, and contextual constraints.
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Evaluate the quality and usefulness of community health data by identifying missing information, inconsistencies, duplicate records, reporting delays, and possible incentives for inaccurate reporting.
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Conduct supportive performance reviews that combine evidence-based feedback, coaching, mentoring, competency development, and agreed improvement actions.
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Design practical dashboards, scorecards, and reporting summaries that communicate performance results clearly without encouraging unfair comparisons or inappropriate attribution of health outcomes.
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Develop performance improvement plans with measurable actions, responsible stakeholders, timelines, follow-up indicators, and mechanisms for reviewing progress and strengthening accountability.
Comprehensive Course Outline
Module 1: Foundations of Community Health Worker Performance Measurement
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Understanding community health worker roles in health promotion, disease prevention, community surveillance, referrals, follow-up, and primary healthcare delivery.
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Distinguishing workforce readiness, activity completion, service coverage, quality of care, client experience, outcomes, and population health impact.
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Reviewing performance measurement frameworks and aligning indicators with programme objectives, approved job descriptions, and national community health policies.
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Identifying stakeholders, assessment purposes, accountability arrangements, ethical considerations, and intended uses of performance information.
Module 2: Performance Domains and Indicator Development
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Defining key performance domains, including service delivery, quality, competency, supervision, referrals, data reporting, community trust, retention, and workforce support.
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Developing measurable indicators with clear definitions, numerators, denominators, data sources, reporting frequencies, and interpretation guidance.
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Selecting baseline values and realistic targets that reflect population needs, expected workload, available resources, and local implementation conditions.
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Creating indicator reference sheets and performance measurement matrices to standardize assessment across teams, facilities, and programme locations.
Module 3: Data Sources, Collection Tools, and Data Quality
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Reviewing household registers, community health information systems, service activity logs, referral forms, facility records, and supervisory reports.
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Designing standardized data collection templates, observation checklists, client feedback instruments, and competency assessment tools.
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Assessing data completeness, accuracy, timeliness, consistency, duplication, and agreement between source records and submitted reports.
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Establishing verification procedures, documentation standards, confidentiality safeguards, and practical data quality improvement routines.
Module 4: Measuring Service Delivery, Coverage, and Productivity
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Measuring household visits, community sessions, health education activities, screening contacts, follow-up visits, and other authorized service delivery outputs.
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Assessing service coverage against eligible populations, assigned catchment areas, planned outreach activities, and programme-specific targets.
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Examining workload, travel requirements, population distribution, seasonal demand, and task complexity when interpreting productivity measures.
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Identifying service delivery gaps, missed contacts, incomplete follow-up, and operational barriers that affect access to community-based healthcare.
Module 5: Assessing Competency and Quality of Care
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Evaluating knowledge and practical skills through structured observation, case scenarios, knowledge checks, and review of completed service records.
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Assessing adherence to approved protocols, appropriate counselling, recognition of danger signs, referral decisions, and follow-up procedures.
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Measuring communication quality, respectful care, informed consent, confidentiality, cultural responsiveness, and client-centred interactions.
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Identifying competency gaps and translating assessment results into targeted coaching, refresher training, mentoring, and supervised practice.
Module 6: Referral Performance and Community Experience
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Measuring referral initiation, referral completion, counter-referral feedback, follow-up timeliness, and coordination between community and facility services.
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Reviewing referral registers and facility records to identify delays, incomplete documentation, unsuccessful referrals, and continuity-of-care gaps.
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Collecting community feedback on service accessibility, trust, satisfaction, responsiveness, respectful treatment, and perceived usefulness of CHW services.
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Investigating barriers to referral completion, including transport costs, distance, facility readiness, communication gaps, and household circumstances.
Module 7: Supportive Supervision, Motivation, and Workforce Management
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Developing structured supervision plans that combine observation, record review, problem-solving, feedback, mentoring, and competency development.
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Assessing supervision coverage, quality of supervisory interactions, frequency of feedback, and completion of agreed follow-up actions.
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Examining factors affecting motivation and retention, including workload, recognition, remuneration, safety, supplies, career pathways, and working conditions.
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Using performance evidence to guide fair appraisal, professional development, workforce support, and retention strategies without relying solely on numerical rankings.
Module 8: Performance Analysis, Scorecards, and Dashboards
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Cleaning and organizing performance datasets to support consistent calculations, comparison across periods, and reliable reporting.
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Calculating indicator values, assessing trends, identifying performance gaps, and examining variations across workers, teams, and geographic areas.
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Developing dashboards and scorecards that summarize service delivery, quality, referrals, data quality, supervision, and community experience.
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Interpreting findings alongside contextual information and documenting limitations, uncertainty, data gaps, and possible explanations for observed differences.
Module 9: Responsible Performance Assessment and Data Use
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Protecting personal and household information through access controls, secure data handling, appropriate consent, and responsible information sharing.
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Recognizing how poorly designed targets, incomplete data, unequal workloads, and resource differences can produce misleading or unfair assessments.
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Establishing transparent review procedures, documented feedback, appropriate escalation pathways, and opportunities for workers to explain contextual challenges.
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Using performance information for learning and service improvement while preventing misuse, inappropriate attribution, and incentives for inflated reporting.
Module 10: Performance Improvement Planning and Implementation
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Converting assessment findings into prioritized improvement actions that address competency gaps, supervision weaknesses, referral barriers, and service delivery constraints.
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Developing performance improvement plans with clear responsibilities, measurable milestones, implementation schedules, and required resources.
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Establishing follow-up reviews to monitor agreed actions, assess progress, and adjust interventions based on new performance evidence.
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Preparing an implementation roadmap that integrates performance measurement into routine management, quality improvement, workforce planning, and programme accountability.
Training Approach
This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.
Tailor-Made Course
This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com Tel: +254 721 331 808
Training Venue
The training will be held at our Upskill Training Centre. We also offer training for a group (at a discount of 10% to 50%) at requested location all over the world. The Onsite course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, buffet lunch, airport transfers, Upskill gift package, and guided tour.
Visa application, travel expenses, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant
Certification
Participants will be issued with Upskill certificate upon completion of this course.
Airport Pickup and Accommodation
Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: training@upskilldevelopment.com, +254 721 331 808
Terms of Payment:
Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 3 working days before commencement of the training so as to enable us to prepare better.
