An Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Rehabilitation Services in a Dhaka District Sub-Unit

Iskander Hossain (1), Md. Sazzad Hossain (2), Sumaiya Chowdhury (3)
(1) Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh, Bangladesh,
(2) Speech and Language Therapy Department, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) the Academic Institute of CRP, Bangladesh, Bangladesh,
(3) Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh, Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: About 2.4 billion people live with various degrees of rehabilitation need in today's world, with a sizable proportion of this population coming from the community. Community health workers are one method of disseminating rehabilitative services among these individuals. Thus, it is critical to ascertain CHWs' knowledge, attitudes, and practises regarding rehabilitation to ensure success in primary health care.


Objective: This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practise of community health workers towards rehabilitation service in a selected sub-unit of Dhaka district.


Method: A cross-sectional design was conducted through a self-administered questionnaire. Bloom’s cut-off ≥80%, ≥90%, ≥75% was used to determine adequate knowledge, a positive attitude, and good practise, respectively. The data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0.


Result: The results of the study showed that a significant proportion of CHWs, specifically 105 (98.1%) and 89 (83.2%), exhibited inadequate knowledge and poor practise. However, it is noteworthy that 87 (81.3%) of the CHWs showed a positive attitude towards rehabilitation services. A significant statistical association was observed between socio-demographic factors such as age, education, designation, and experience and the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practises (KAP).


Conclusion: The community health worker lacked adequate knowledge and was unaware of the need for rehabilitation services. Overall, they demonstrated a positive attitude towards rehabilitation services but were poor in practise. These findings indicate that CHWs must broaden their knowledge and practise to provide effective rehabilitation services.


Limitation: The primary constraint is the lack of a standardised questionnaire to assess CHW knowledge, attitude, and practise. Another limitation is the findings' generalizability, as this study was conducted in a particular upazila. The findings may not apply to all Upazilas. There is insufficient literature to discuss from a national perspective due to Bangladesh's dearth of research in this field.


Keywords: Rehabilitation service, Community health worker, Knowledge, Attitude, Practise.

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Authors

Iskander Hossain
iskanderhossain.slt@gmail.com (Primary Contact)
Md. Sazzad Hossain
Sumaiya Chowdhury
Author Biographies

Iskander Hossain, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh

Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh

Members, Society of Speech and Language Therapists (SSLTs), Bangladesh

Md. Sazzad Hossain, Speech and Language Therapy Department, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) the Academic Institute of CRP, Bangladesh

Speech and Language Therapy Department, Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI) the Academic Institute of CRP, Bangladesh

Members, Society of Speech and Language Therapists (SSLTs), Bangladesh

Sumaiya Chowdhury, Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh

Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Bangladesh

Members, Society of Speech and Language Therapists (SSLTs), Bangladesh

1.
Hossain I, Hossain MS, Chowdhury S. An Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Rehabilitation Services in a Dhaka District Sub-Unit. DCIDJ [Internet]. 2025 Apr. 25 [cited 2025 May 30];36(1):10-21. Available from: https://dcidj.uog.edu.et/index.php/up-j-dcbrid/article/view/701

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