Front line health workers (6)
-----------------------------
Neil's thoughts on health worker (HW) maintained files are very valu-
able. There are several examples of community based Child Survival
programs with locally maintained records. As might be expected one
seldom finds that they are adequately maintained. The reason for this
is not clear. However, I suspect that day to day management of writ-
ten information is not cherished because of the lack of experience to
do this regularly in normal life. With a few exceptions, such as mer-
chants, to maintain records requires HWs to use skills with which
they are not always comfortable or confident.
However, such skills can be developed under the right circumstances.
Experience in Central and South America and in the Lake Victoria re-
gion (with the Bamako Initiative), suggests that important factors
related to establishing a credible community based information system
include:
(1) use of the data by mothers,
(2) assessment of the information by the community at community meet-
ings or weighing sessions,
(3) and regular supervision.
Sincerely,
Dr. Joseph J. Valadez, PhD, MPH, ScD
Dept. International Health
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health
617 N Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD, USA
and
Health Programs Coordinator
PLAN International*
3260 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA, 22201, USA
mailto:JosephValadez@Compuserve.com
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*PLAN Internaitonal is a PVO and development organization working in
40 nations in Africa, Central and South America, Asia, E&C Europe to
enhance child and maternal survival, reproductive health, and the
quality of life in low income communities.
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