Our clinic in-charge person, Willis, called a staff meeting this morning to review the end of quarter statistics. The Kenya Ministry of Health (MOH), like all government agencies requires certain reporting to be done monthly and quarterly. The data includes the number of ante-natal visits, the number of vaccinations given, the top 10 diseases seen in our clinic etc. One item had to do with the number of people who received family planning counseling.
That percentage was below MOH goals so we discussed how the data was collected and if it was an accurate reflection of the services provided. Paul asked if the number included male patients who were counseled on FP options. The staff erupted into laughter. Counsel African men in family planning or condom use? Preposterous! The woman on the staff believed that men not only don't accept counseling on these topics but they prevent women from accessing FP services. It turned into a lively discussion with the men stating the belief that African men do want to prevent HIV transmission, do use condoms, do want to have fewer children etc.
I suggested that we design a survey to ask the opinions of men around these issues. The survey would be conducted on outreach and in the clinic and men of all ages would be included. We got 4 "volunteers" to design a survey that they will then bring back to the group in one week. Everyone agreed on one thing- HIV transmission is tied to the sexual practices and beliefs of the men and women in the community and no one really knew for certain what those beliefs are.
I'll share our findings in a month or two.
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2 comments:
Very interesting, your two health-cultural experiences. Is end-of-life hospital care expensive? Do families pay this up front? It will be interesting to hear your survey results and see if perceptions of FP control are different even amongst the working/nonworking people surveyed. I'm enjoying your blog!
Hi Kim, You always ask such good questions. Yes, it's relatively expensive to transport a pt. to hospital(about 1000 Ksh)and to admit them for care. Jacob wanted to try to use his bicycle for collateral to pay for the transport but had no way to pay for inpatient care.
The survey has already been an interesting social experiment. Each of the 2 men and 2 women on the task force developed their own list of questions. One woman asked opinionated questions like "why don't you men use condoms?" Or "Why don't you men accompany your wives to clinic?" It was very funny. They gave all the questions to me with the hope I would put together the final survey. I, of course, gave it back to them to hammer out and they did a fine job. If we can get it copied this w/e we'll start surveying people on Monday. Thanks for your questions. Darcie
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