Retention of female volunteer community health workers in Dhaka urban slums: a case-control study

INTRODUCTION: Volunteer community health workers (CHWs) are one approach to addressing the health workforce shortage in developing countries. BRAC, a large NGO in Bangladesh, is a pioneer in using female volunteer CHWs as core workers in its successful health programmes. After 25 years of implementing the CHW model in rural areas, BRAC is now using CHWs in urban slums of Dhaka through Manoshi, a community-based maternal and child health project. However, high dropout rates among CHWs in the slums suggested a need to better understand factors associated with their retention, and consequently recommend strategies for increasing their retention. METHODS: This mixed-method study included a case-control design to assess factors relating to the retention of volunteer CHWs, and focus group discussions…