Vanishing Volunteers: The Use of Implementation Research to Improve Support for Community Drug Distributors in Côte d'Ivoire
2019
This case from the Western Public Health Casebook 2019 focuses on volunteer burnout surrounding mass drug administration campaigns to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in Côte d’Ivoire. Many drug distributor volunteers feel unsupported and overwhelmed in their work for an array of reasons. With the 2020 deadline to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in Côte d’Ivoire quickly approaching, Dr. Emmanuel Koffi – a neglected tropical disease manager at the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene – reached out to a health professional at the University of Abidjan for help in constructing a research strategy to combat volunteer burnout. This case study provides background information on mass drug administration, lymphatic filariasis, and neglected tropical diseases as the reader follows along with the construction of the research project.
This case contains guidance for instructors, including learning objectives and discussion questions. It is part of a 14-case collection written by students in the MPH class of the Schulich Interfaculty Program in Public Health at Western University, Canada. The cases may be freely copied and used for educational purposes by an accredited educational institution.
Source:
Dilliot D et al. Vanishing Volunteers: The Use of Implementation Research to Improve Support for Community Drug Distributors in Côte d’Ivoire. Western Public Health Casebook 2019. Public Health Casebook Publishing 2019. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/westernpublichealthcases/vol2019/iss2019/7.