Harnessing Community Knowledge for Health

The focus of this study is the health service provision and information systems at the community level, which was explored by analyzing the day to day practice of community health workers, known as health extension workers who serve rural residents in Ethiopia. The benefits of assignment of community health workers in low- income countries have brought remarkable improvement on access to and utilization of health services by the community. It also helps to increase the community participation. The study takes practice based perspective that used to understand the day to day practices of community health workers, and the impact of community knowledge on the health sector. The importance of community knowledge is acknowledged to enhance sustainable development endeavors and acceptance of the scientific methods by the community. Thus, the two knowledge systems from the scientific and community sources need to be bridged. In line with this, this study aims to develop an understanding of community knowledge in the public health sector of a developing country, Ethiopia. The study makes theoretical and practical contributions both for public health and information systems fields.