Task Sharing

Photo by Monica Wanjiru

Determining and establishing the optimal mix of health personnel is a major challenge for most health care organizations and health systems. In many developing countries, primary-level workers, auxiliary staff, and community health workers are being trained to assume roles and perform functions traditionally reserved for mid- or high-level cadres of health workers as a means of optimizing the number and capacity of available providers. The intention of this process is to free up the time of higher-level workers, increasing client access to health care.

The Evidence Project is generating new evidence and consolidating existing evidence about the effectiveness of task sharing and its application and operationalization in the field by program managers and policymakers.