Abdelmalak Mena J, Ahmed Bilaal S, Mehta Khanjan
Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, 500 University Dr. Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA.
Pennsylvania State University, College of Medicine, 500 University Dr. Hershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, USA
Int Health. 2016 May;8(3):220-6. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihv059. Epub 2015 Sep 27.
We characterize health knowledge and practices in urban and rural Makeni, Sierra Leone, drawing comparisons between areas served by community health workers (CHWs) with those that are not. We also inquire about causes of infant and maternal mortality and how they are understood in the local context. Our objective was to provide a baseline understanding of health knowledge and practices in Makeni during the implementation of a CHW program.
We conducted 100 household interviews in Makeni City and rural villages in the surrounding area. We compared data between urban and rural areas to identify differences in health knowledge and practices.
Our sample size covered 855 individuals. Insecticide treated bednet ownership was lower in urban settings compared to rural populations (58% vs 94%; p<.001). With regards to maternal mortality, most respondents indicated 'no clinic' (lack of clinical care or skipped antenatal care visits) as the primary cause (n=35), followed by bleeding (n=17), 'lack of blood' (anemia) (n=11) and 'will of God' (n=11).
This initial survey of health knowledge and practices in rural and urban Makeni, Sierra Leone, highlights some simple opportunities for community health promotion, health education programming and behavioral interventions. Findings will inform future iterations of a CHW training module for community health education.
我们对塞拉利昂马克尼城乡地区的健康知识与实践进行了特征描述，比较了有社区卫生工作者（CHW）服务的地区与没有此类服务的地区。我们还询问了婴儿和孕产妇死亡的原因以及当地对此的理解。我们的目标是在实施社区卫生工作者项目期间，对马克尼的健康知识与实践有一个基线了解。
我们在马克尼市及周边农村村庄进行了100户家庭访谈。我们比较了城乡地区的数据，以确定健康知识与实践方面的差异。
我们的样本涵盖了855人。与农村人口相比，城市地区经杀虫剂处理的蚊帐拥有率较低（58%对94%；p<0.001）。关于孕产妇死亡，大多数受访者指出“无诊所”（缺乏临床护理或跳过产前检查）是主要原因（n = 35），其次是出血（n = 17）、“缺血”（贫血）（n = 11）和“天意”（n = 11）。
此次对塞拉利昂马克尼城乡地区健康知识与实践的初步调查，突出了社区健康促进、健康教育规划和行为干预的一些简单机会。研究结果将为社区健康教育的社区卫生工作者培训模块的未来迭代提供参考。
