[e-drug] Looking for examples of job aids used by alternative healthcare providers, esp. drug sellers

["Cheri Grace" <cheri.grace@hlsp.org>]

E-DRUG: Looking for examples of job aids used by alternative healthcare providers, esp. drug sellers
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Dear E-druggers,

We would be grateful for examples of work aids (job aids) used by alternative healthcare providers.  For purposes of our study, work aids are being defined as: tangible products that are left with the health providers to facilitate their work; they do not include biologically active substances or products that are intended to prevent infection, nor do they include any diagnostics that require biological samples to be taken. They are usually designed to overcome some specific, rate-limiting constraint (knowledge, skill, access to a laboratory, health system bottleneck, etc), and may also aim to improve efficiency, reduce cost, reduce missed opportunities (allow multi-tasking), reduce complexity or required skills to do something, and/or increase the acceptability of a service to community members."
	       
We are interested in job aids used by healthcare providers with relatively low training levels - for example - community health workers, community health volunteers, drug sellers, assistant pharmacists, traditional birth attendants, unlicensed doctors, traditional healers.
	       
Although the review will focus on a wide range of job aids including low tech equipment and ICT related job aids, we hope that e-drug readers might especially know of examples of job aids developed for and used by drug sellers, assistant pharmacists or other medicine providers, to try and improve rational prescribing/patient counselling (e.g. reduce risk of inaccurate or incomplete dosing/overuse of antibiotics). The only examples we have so far relate to work with drug shops selling anti-malarials in Kenya and a pocket guide for quacks in Bangladesh. Perhaps there are examples of job aids used to guide the work of community health volunteers who are following patients on TB treatment or on ARVs? We have several examples of job aids used in reproductive health and contraceptive choice counselling, but there must be many more examples?
	       
Grateful for literature references, contacts, and examples of actual job aids.
	       
Many thanks

Cheri Grace
Health Systems Specialist
HLSP
5-23 Old Street
London EC1V 9HL, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7251 9555
cheri.grace@hlsp.org