An assessment of the impact of Health Workers for Change in Avellaneda, Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina

This paper describes the evaluation of the Health Workers for Change (HWFC) workshop series in a primary health care clinic in Avellaneda, Argentina. The study found that there was an important impact at the facility level 2 months after the intervention (T2). Health workers were motivated and willing to examine their own practices critically in an effort to improve quality of care. Informants from the community also perceived that patients were being treated more kindly. Eleven months later (T3), however, the impact at the facility level had receded significantly. At the system level the main benefit of the workshops was to focus attention on the health workers themselves, particularly their perception that there was little communication with the authorities. As a result, the number of system level supervisors increased and they were urged to spend more time in the clinics. Reasons for the limited impact at T3 are discussed and suggestions are made for improving the intervention.