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

Abstract #72350

Christie A. Johnson, MPH, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale University School of Medicine, christie.johnson@yale.edu

In rural Cebu, Philippines, lay health workers (volunteers) are an integral aspect of the Community-Based Monitoring and Information System (CBMIS), a tool used to identify and prioritize women with unmet needs for family planning. These workers interact with families over an extended period of time, refer them to appropriate health services, and complete a need assessment form for each client. Utilizing an inductive and descriptive study design, this study sought to: identify factors that would increase the ability of BHWs to refer clients to appropriate contraceptive services; identify possible barriers of informed contraceptive choice among the clients of the BHWs, including gaps in BHW skills and knowledge; describe how empowerment, or lack thereof, is expressed by the BHW; and compare client and BHW perspectives of access. Ethnographic interviews with BHWs were complemented by data collected from their clients, their supervisory health staff, and their local leaders. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, further triangulating the results by methodology: through interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups. Analysis illustrated that there was a positive relationship between BHW empowerment and the promotion of informed contraceptive choice; an empowered BHW is a better client advocate and educator. Gender inequity, low socio-economic status, and low involvement in decision-making, hindered the BHW’s ability to promote informed contraceptive choice among her clients. As the CBMIS is moving towards wider implementation in the Philippines, the findings of this research initiative will be beneficial in the development and implementation of training materials for the BHWs.

Learning Objectives:

• This research initiative sought to identify factors that would increase the ability of lay health workers to promote informed contraceptive choice within a rural Community-Based Monitoring, Information System in the Philippines.

Keywords: Lay Health Workers, Family Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.