Task sharing for point-of-care testing: Review of national health policies and implementation landscape in 19 African countries.

ABSTRACT: World Health Organization recommends task sharing (TS) for point-of-care testing (POCT) with lay health workers (LHW) to improve access when professional capacity is limited. Despite many benefits of POCT, TS remains underutilized. This study examined uptake of TS for POCT in national policies and the implementation landscape in 19 African countries from November 2024 to March 2025. A mixed-methods approach included an online cross-sectional survey with stakeholders (national ministries of health, medical associations, private laboratories, implementation supporting partners, LHWs); review of national health strategic and policy documents and key informant interviews (KII) with national laboratory directors. Standardized emails recruited participants, whilst documents came from requests an

SUBMITTER: Ndlovu Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12747379 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature