The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #67295

Ngoc Quang Nguyen, DDS, MPH, Hong Phuoc Nguyen, MD, MSc, and Anne Wigglesworth, MD, MCommH. Doctors of the World, No.504 Toserco Building, 269 Kim Ma Street, Hanoi, Vietnam, 84-4-846-4688, dow-mdm-vn@fpt.vn

Technology can overcome communication barriers, when presented with attention to cultural beliefs. The Hmong in mountainous northern Vietnam do not seek health care, avoiding non-Hmong-speaking health workers. These cultural behaviors, thought to be partly responsible for neonatal tetanus among the Hmong, result in unattended delivery and no antenatal attendance at the Health Station. The adult population is illiterate, unused to print media, and does not speak Vietnamese.

The IEC team recruited, and demonstrated the use of clean delivery kits (CDK) to, three Vietnamese-speaking Hmong women. They in turn trained several Women’s Union (WU) members, distributing photo albums showing the trainees demonstrating good antenatal health habits, for use when trainees talk to village women. The IEC team recorded the sessions with a Webcam, then played them back to the participants. At a second session, trainees learned to encourage antenatal attendance at the Stations, and to distribute a CDK to each pregnant woman to keep until her delivery, when she summons a trainee for help with the birth. The IEC team also devised a nonverbal monitoring method to track home visits.

Within three months of training, thirteen of fifteen women delivered at Hang Kia called for assistance, using the CDK. All thirteen newborns survived the first week of life.

Learning Objectives:

• Learning objectives:
• Identify three methods to overcome cultural and linguistic barriers to IEC in remote, conservative populations.
• Suggest two ways of monitoring a health intervention in an indigenous population.
• Discuss how to approach planning IEC and other health interventions in culturally appropriate ways.

Keywords: Ethnic Minorities, Maternal and Child Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Doctors of the World-USA
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.