Access to pre-natal care and cervical cancer prevention action among women from Brazilian Landless Workers Movement

The struggle continues. And so does the writing about two of the most important social movements in contemporary Latin America, the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the Zapatista Army ...

In this chapter, I analyze the educational initiatives of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST), one of the largest social movements in Latin America. Over the past three decades, MST leaders have developed a set of pedagogical and organizational proposals for education, which local activists attempt to implement in public schools across the country. I argue that the MST’s attempt to enter the state and govern public schools is not a form of cooptation but, rather, a strategic attempt to transform the civil society terrain, what Antonio Gramsci referred to as a “war of position.” This often leads to contradictions, tensions, and defeats, but these educational interventions are critical to the MST’s larger political struggle: garnering the moral and intellectual leadership of civil society for an alternative hegemonic project. In this chapter, I use the case of the MST to highlight what I see as Gramsci’s three educational contributions: (1) his deeply educational theory of the process of social change, (2) his analysis of the pedagogical process through which learning and education should take place, and (3) his suggestions about appropriate strategy when attempting to engage the state and transform public institutions, including school systems. I illustrate these three contributions through an analysis of Gramsci’s writings, returning continually to the case of the MST to show how Gramsci’s educational proposals are being implemented in the twenty-first century.

According to Saudi Arabia's 2030 vision, research should be directed to promote health and prevent diseases like cervical cancer (CC). Furthermore, the Kingdom pays specific attention to the health of women. CC ranks eighth among all cancers in Saudi Arabia; therefore, determining women's beliefs and associated factors will help prevent and treat them early. The objective of this study was to explore Saudi women's health beliefs and associated factors regarding CC prevention in Najran city. A cross-sectional design was carried out using a convenience sampling technique of 1085 participants from the Najran region. Data collection was done from June to September 2021, using tools consisting of basic data and personal/family history of the study participants and the health belief model (HBM) scale for CC. The findings revealed that up to 99% of the participants did not take the HPV vaccine, while only 2% undertook the Pap smear test. Less than one-fifth (17.9%) of the participants believed they were highly susceptible to developing CC, although more than two-thirds (70.4%) of them believed CC is a serious disease. Only one-tenth (9.8%) of the participants had low perceived barriers to undergoing a Pap smear test, even though a large proportion (85.3%) of them highly perceived its benefits and were motivated to uptake CC prevention. Rural area residence, low education, insufficient monthly income, and young age were negatively associated factors with CC prevention and health beliefs (p< 0.05). Participants with a family history of CC or who previously performed Pap smear test had a higher health motivation and perceived benefits of CC screening and prevention (p<0.05). The study concluded that most Saudi women did not undertake Pap smear tests or HPV vaccine, although average scores of the sub-dimensions of the HBM scale about CC were moderate or high except for perceived susceptibility to CC. Therefore, national educational programs for Saudi women should be directed to increase their perceived susceptibility to CC and decrease the perceived barriers to Pap smear test. In addition, the ministry of health's educational efforts should be directed to rural areas' residents with low education, insufficient monthly income, and young age women.

It is important for public health to determine the awareness of cervical cancer, which is preventable and treatable when detected at an early stage. This study was conducted to determine female academicians' attitudes towards prevention and early diagnosis of cervical cancer and the factors affecting them. This descriptive study was conducted with 211 female academicians working in all departments of a university. In the study, the data were collected using questionnaire form, the attitude scale for early diagnosis of cervical cancer, and the attitudes towards prevention of cervical cancer scale. It was determined that 68.2% of the female academicians had knowledge about the pap smear test; however, 41.0% of them did not have the test because they could not find time, and 56.4% had the knowledge about the pap smear test from a healthcare professional. It was determined that academicians had lower scores from the Attitude Scale for Early Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer (88.55 ± 9.75) and above-average scores from the Attitudes Towards Prevention of Cervical Cancer Scale (74.30 ± 15.92). It was found that area of expertise, income status, history of infectious disease, and vaginal douching affected both the early diagnosis of cervical cancer and the attitudes towards prevention of it. The female academicians inadequate attitudes towards early diagnosis of cervical cancer and better attitudes towards prevention. Nurses and administrators should encourage female academics and all women to screen for cervical cancer.

This article explores how social movement co-governance of public education offers an alternative to neoliberal educational models. The Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) is one of the largest social movements in Latin America. We describe one of the many schools that the MST co-governs, the Itinerant School Paths of Knowledge (Caminhos do Saber), located in an occupied encampment in the state of Paraná. We analyze three of the most unique pedagogical innovations in the school: the teacher’s incorporation of ‘portions of reality’ into classroom teaching, the student work collectives, and the participatory student evaluation process. Although these pedagogies are seemingly mundane changes to everyday school practice, we argue that they represent a challenge to the neoliberal educational model being implemented globally. These movement pedagogies are likely to continue, despite recent conservative attacks, and they offer several concrete lessons for how to effectively contest neoliberal educational practices in other global contexts.

Preventing cervical cancer in low-resource settings: Building a case for the possible

Cervical cancer is a preventable disease; it is the primary cancer amongst women in South Africa. The objective of this study is to assess the awareness and detection methods of cervical cancer. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 180 full time final year undergraduate female university students. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the sample and self administered questionnaire was used to collect the information. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to find association and the significant predictor for doing Pap smear test. Over half (53.3%) of the participants had heard about cervical cancer and its detection method. More than half (60%) and over a third (37.8%) of the participants knew about human papilloma virus (HPV) and multiple sexual partner respectively as risk factors for cervical cancer. More than half (55.3%) indicated that they were not aware if cervical cancer can be prevented. Majority (76.7%) knew that Papanicolau's (Pap) smear test is used for detection or prevention of cervical cancer. Among those who were sexually active and knew about Pap smear test 79.3% did not do the test mainly because of personal factors such as fear of the procedure, or were not ill. Level of awareness regarding cervical cancer and its detection method was low among these female students. The university management should focus on developing policies on health education and promotion to prevent transmission of the HPV.

Recent discussions and research about the uses of digital social media platforms by social movements and protest organizations have raised questions about threats and challenges represented by these technologies. There is also a debate on whether digital social media platforms can contribute to establish and strengthen long-standing oppositional groups and structural change. In this context, this article analyses how the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) experiences and views the use of digital social media platforms in its communicative processes. Based on interviews and observations, the article shows how MST militants present ambivalent views towards platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and towards the dynamics of digital communication. Conclusions point that the main concern is threat to the organic collective character of the movement posed by individualistic digital social media platforms. Different from contemporary protest organisations, MST sees a clear separation between the movement and its media. The goal is to appropriate of and control media technologies, which brings many difficulties when dealing with digital social media platforms.

This contribution explores the strategies used by popular movements seeking to advance social reforms, and the challenges once they succeed. It analyzes how a strategic alliance between the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) and the National Confederation of Agricultural Workers (CONTAG) transformed the Ministry of Education's official approach to rural schooling. This success illustrates the critical role of international allies, political openings, framing, coalitions and state–society alliances in national policy reforms. The paper also shows that once movements succeed in advancing social reforms, bureaucratic tendencies such as internal hierarchy, rapid expansion and ‘best practices’ – in addition to the constant threat of cooptation – can prevent their implementation.

Resumo: Pretende-se trazer as contribuições da psicanálise para pensar a militância no Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) como práticas que ressignificam o passado e podem ser enriquecedoras para os sujeitos. Para tanto, apresentaremos as contribuições dos psicanalistas Arantes (1999) e Muldworf (2000) para o estudo da militância política e faremos uma breve caracterização do MST e de seus militantes. Destaca-se que a adesão a ideais sociais e lugar de prestígio que ocupa o militante no movimento lhe possibilita gratificação e revitalização narcísica e que estas não devem ser negligenciadas pelos movimentos sociais e nos estudos sobre a temática.

Occupying Schools, Occupying Land is a global and comparative ethnography that centres around the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurias Sem Terra) (MST) and their ...

Women's access to and control over productive resources, including land, have increasingly been recognised in global discussions as a key factor in reducing poverty, ensuring food security and promoting gender equality. Indeed, this argument has been widely accepted by both feminists and development theorists since the 1980s. Based on qualitative research with 50 purposively selected men and women in Ghana's Upper West region, this study explored the complexity of women's access to and control over land within a specific relationship of contestations, negotiations, and manipulations with men. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. While theoretically, participants showed that women's [secure] access to and control over land have beneficial consequences for women themselves, households and the community at large, in principle, women's access and control status was premised in the traditional framework, which largely deprives women of equal access and/or control over the land. The article indicates that even though land is the most revered resource and indeed, the dominant source of income for the rural poor, especially women, gender-erected discrimination and exclusion are key barriers that prevent many rural women from accessing land. This article argues that women's weak access rights and control over land continues to perpetuate the feminisation of gender inequality - while men were reported to possess primary access and control over land as the heads of households, women were argued to have secondary rights due to their 'stranger statuses' in their husbands' families. Overall, the degree of access to land among women was reported to be situated within two broad contexts - marriage and inheritance.

Background: Cervical cancer is the fourth common cancer in women and HPV vaccination and Pap smear screening played important roles in primary prevention and secondary prevention of cervical cancer. Health Belief Model has been used extensively to study beliefs and health behaviors of vaccination and Pap smear testing. Many previous studies focused on students in HPV vaccination and females who aged over 30 years in Pap smear testing. Besides, nursing staffs play an important role in promoting health behavior about prevention of disease, but few studies focused on this group in Taiwan. Aim: To assess the predictability of taking HPV vaccine and Pap smear testing by socio-demographic variables, awareness and health belief among young nurses. Methods: We designed the structured questionnaire tested the validity by experts and analyzed the internal consistency (Cronbach’s α) to assess the reliability. Between 2016.09-2017.01 we collected 205 nurses from two hospitals in northern Taiwan. This data was analyzed by exploratory factor analysis, descriptive statistics, stepwise multiple linear regression and stepwise multiple logistic regression. Results: Among the 205 subjects, the vaccination rate was about 42.4%. The significant associated factors included awareness, perceived barriers, action cues and self-efficacy (5.5 vs. 5.0, p-value=0.009; 7.6 vs. 13.5, p-value <.0001; 11.9 vs. 8.3, p<0.0001; 3.1 vs. 2.4, p-value=0.003). Moreover, the significant predictors included perceived barriers, self-efficacy and family history of cervical cancer (β=-0.22, Wald X2=20.24, p-value<.0001; β=0.28, Wald X2=20.5, p-value<.0001; β=1.52, Wald X2=4.56, p-value= 0.03) The rate of Pap smear testing was about 26.4%. The significant associated factors included awareness, perceived barriers, action cues and self-efficacy (5.7 vs. 5.0, p-value= 0.006; 7.6 vs. 13.5, p= 0.0004; 9.9 vs. 8.4, p-value= 0.005; 3.4 vs. 2.8, p-value= 0.006). Moreover, the significant predictors included awareness, perceived barriers, action cues and specialty nurses (β=0.25, Wald X2=4.06, p-value=0.04; β=-0.11, Wald X2=10.64, p-value=0.001; β=0.28, Wald X2=5.44, p-value=0.02; β=0.82, Wald X2=4.84, p-value=0.03). Conclusions: The awareness of cervical cancer, perceived barriers, self-efficacy and action cues influence the subjects taking the prevention of cervical cancer. Therefore, providing on-job education of cervical cancer, and a supportive environment are the key factors to young nurses in the preventions of cervical cancer.

Este artigo propõe-se a discutir a experiência de professores e professoras das escolas de assentamento organizadas pelo Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem-Terra -- MST, no oeste catarinense. Seguindo uma metodologia qualitativa, o estudo possibilitou a apreensão de aspectos significativos do universo cultural dos sujeitos, destacando as relações construídas na vida familiar, no desempenho da profissão e na participação política no Movimento. A análise da ação desenvolvida pelos professores nos diversos espaços de atuação vai revelando como eles se tornam sujeitos de sua experiência. A adesão às propostas educativas do MST possibilita a manifestação de uma identidade que fortalece a experiência cotidiana de ser professor, favorecendo o desenvolvimento de uma consciência orgulhosa da prática docente. A experiência é realimentada na escola e também nas instâncias educativas propiciadas pelo Movimento, nos contatos com o grupo de docentes, nos estudos que desenvolvem, nas trocas com os alunos e seus familiares. Isso possibilita aos professores estabelecer prioridades, acrescentando elementos significativos aos conteúdos escolares. Evidencia-se aí a perspectiva de veiculação, na escola, de uma dimensão do saber enriquecido pela ação política gerada nas práticas coletivas. Esse envolvimento resulta em experiências diferenciadas que se refletem nas ações desenvolvidas na escola e no Movimento. Com isso, esses professores reelaboram o espaço da escola no meio rural, criando novos compromissos que transformam sua atividade docente, ampliando seu aprendizado e as relações de solidariedade presentes na cultura do campo.

Background:Cervical cancer is a public health problem that disproportionately affects women in less-developed countries despite the availability of effective screening tools. The objective of this study was to determine the level of knowledge of cervical cancer and uptake of the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test among teachers in public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.Methodology:This was a cross-sectional descriptive study among 370 female teachers in public secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were collected with a self-administered questionnaire and were analyzed using Stata software version 10.Results:The mean age of respondents was 37.9 ± 7.9 years. More than two-thirds (71.0%) of the respondents had low knowledge of cervical cancer risk factors, whereas 168 (57.9%) respondents had low knowledge of the symptoms. Among the 226 (77.9%) respondents who knew that cervical cancer was preventable, only 65 (28.8%) had high knowledge of preventive measures. About 42.2% of respondents were aware of the Pap smear test and only 8.4% had ever had a Pap smear test. There were significant associations between knowledge of symptoms, prevention of cervical cancer, and the uptake of the Pap smear test (P < 0.05).Conclusion:The levels of knowledge of risk factors, symptoms, and methods of prevention of cervical cancer were low in this study. This may have accounted for the low uptake of the Pap smear test. Regular and comprehensive health education concerning cervical cancer and its prevention is advocated in the media and clinics to encourage higher uptake of the Pap smear test.