Taking on a different task at work!

June 23-27, 2013

This past week, I was asked to partake in a different project with PEYORG. The project consisted on doing some research by interviewing focus groups of women from three age categories who had given birth within the past year and a half. The purpose was to find out their experiences (as far as service, availability of drugs, accessibility, affordability, etc.) at the health care facility, so that a report could be compiled and given to the Ghanaian government to make improvements.  In other words—advocacy work—something I am quite passionate and have some experience! Needless to say, I was ecstatic to begin!

On Sunday, I went to Sana Lodge, a hotel in Cape Coast (about 25 minutes from Elmina). There, my co-workers and I, members of another NGO, called Young and Lonely, and three other people from the organization that was giving us the training: Alliance for Reproductive Health Right, met from 3pm-8pm for training on how to conduct the research. The training was not so much on how to do research, but more of how to facilitate discussion among the focus group. It reminded me of the content I learned in my Social Work class, Interviewing and Recording, as well as the content from PeaceJam and ANYTOWN  on how to facilitate dialogue. It was a really cool experience to see that some of the facilitation skills I have learned in the US were also being used in this training. Fortunately for me, the training was held in English, so I was able to contribute my own thoughts, insights and suggestions for how to be most effective. Although the training was lengthy and I had not eaten lunch or dinner, I enjoyed every part of it!

The first day of research was on Monday. The twelve people who had attended the training gathered at Besease’s community center. There, a group of eight women ages 15-21 waited for us. There were three main faciliators (who spoke Fante well, since the villagers don’t speak English), and the rest of us were observers/ note takers. At first, I felt like I was a burden since I couldn’t really contribute to either facilitating or note taking because I cannot understand or speak Fante. However, the others in the team made sure that someone could translate to me, and I would jot down their translation. It was explained to the women the reason why we were there, and that their honest opinion was valued and should be heard because they are taxpayers and thus deserve a say in the services they receive. The first part of the group interview focused on the women’s experiences. The eight women talked and from that, the facilitators gathered the top indicators that Kissi Health facility could be scored on. Later, they asked the group to score each of the indicators and if possible mention specific examples that supported that score. The last part of the group interview focused on specific aspects of Ante Natal Care, Supervised Deliveries, Post Natal Care, and Family Planning. The interview lasted for two and a half hours. After, the next focus group (eight women ages 22-30), arrived and the process was repeated. Subsequently the last focus group involved eight women ages 30 and above. After a long day of interviewing, the training group gathered once more at Sana Lodge to debrief the day and see how we could improve the next day’s interviewing process.

On Tuesday, we travelled to Kissi to continue day two of focus group interviews. The same process as the previous day was implemented with some slight changes. Twenty-four women from the three age groups were interviewed in groups and the findings were recorded. Day two of interviews was also followed by a debrief of the day at the Sana Lodge. 

Some of the things I learned from listening to the women who were interviewed:

• ·         Most of the women prefer to give birth at home because they are afraid of being hit at the hospital. It is a common practice for women who are in labor and are taking “too long” to be caned in order to speed up their delivery. Also, if you are crying or complaining about pain you will also be canned because you are considered “weak”.
• ·         Some women wait until they are 6-7 months pregnant before going to the clinic.
• ·         Some of the birth control methods mentioned: drinking a coca-cola with a cup of sugar, grinding a bottle of beer into dust and drinking it with something else, breast feeding for 3-4 years, wearing jeans/shorts when going to sleep, herbal medicines, and taking 12 tablets of parasitamol with alcohol.
• ·         A way to cope with pain during the pregnancy is to take alcohol.
• ·         Practically all women complained about the long wait at the clinic and the type of service they received from the nurses.
• ·         Some of the suggestions the women made for improving the health facility:

o   Increase the number of doctors at the facility (I was told by my co-worker that there are only 2 doctors in the whole district--- not sure if that is true, but I am certain that there is a need for more doctors in this area.)

o   Expand the facility hours to cover night shifts; many women have had to give birth at home because the clinic is not open at night.

o   Increase the supply of the drugs that are available because sometimes they are told to go somewhere else to get what they need.

This type of work has made me realize the desperate need to increase the number of doctors in this area and the number of health facilities. Even when I go do TB outreach, most people we talk to may not have the TB symptoms, but are having other symptoms or illnesses. I wish I had some medical background or that I was a doctor so that I could help more people.