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Table 1 Search terms and inclusion/exclusion criteria

From: The global pendulum swing towards community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review of trends, geographical distribution and programmatic orientations, 2005 to 2014

Search terms

“community health worker*” OR “volunteer health worker*” OR “lay health worker*” OR “lay health advis*r” OR “lay health advis*rs” OR “lay health educator*” OR “village health worker*” OR “village health volunteer*” OR “lady health worker*” OR “community health volunteer*” OR “community health agent*” OR “community health promotion” OR “community health promoter*” OR “community health aide*” OR “health assistant worker*” OR “home based care” OR “home community based care*” OR “community health agent*” OR “health surveillance assistant*” OR “community care giver*” OR “community caregiver” OR “accredited social health activists” OR “asha” OR “mitanins” OR “mitanin” OR “family health team*” OR “family health program*” OR “integrated community case management” OR “ICCM”

Inclusion/exclusion criteria

English-language publications

Low- and middle-income countries

Empirical findings, reviews, trial protocols, extended analyses, scientific letters and conference proceedings

Not the following:

• Editorials, letters, short commentaries, news items

• Traditional birth attendants and traditional healers

• Facility-based cadres, such as lay counsellors

• Family care givers, peer supporters or counsellors, expert patients

• Community medicine retailers/sellers

• Community rehabilitation workers

• CHWs as field workers for research

• CHWs as a recommendations but not a focus of the findings

• Household surveys describing utilization of different providers, including CHWs