Rural Health Promotion Research Articles

Oral Contraceptive Compliance in Rural Colombia: Knowledge of Users and Providers

Errors in pill use among 341 new oral contraceptive (OC) acceptors in Magdalena Colombia were high both in daily use and in the transition from 1 cycle to the next. 58% of the women had used the pill incorrectly during a single 2-week period. Of that group 43% made errors during the cycle (such as not taking the pill every day) 47% reported making an incorrect transition from 1 cycle to the next and 10% ran out of supplies. Most of the errors reported were intentional acts such as taking the pill every other day to reduce side effects or taking the pill only around the time of sexual relations. The providers of OCs in this region--the Colombian Ministry of Healths rural health promoters--knew more about correct use than did their clients but there were serious gaps in their knowledge as well. Use-effectiveness of the pill might be dramatically improved among these rural women if 2 messages were clearly given and consistently reinforced. They must take the pill on a daily basis regardless of sexual activity or minor physical discomforts and they must adhere to the proper interval between pill cycles (which depends on whether they are on a 21-day or 28-day cycle). Clear labelling of pill packets could only serve to reinforce this message. (authors modified) (summaries in SPA FRE)

Toward a Rural Health Corps Concept: Lessons from the Dominican Republic*

ABSTRACT: In recent years, primary health care services have expanded rapidly in rural Latin America. However, these services are characterized in many countries of the region by inefficiency and low quality. Research on rural health services in the Dominican Republic identifies the compulsory year of rural service required of graduating medical students (known as pasantia in some countries and medicatura rural in others) as one of the main causes for these problems. Conflicting roles assigned to rural health promoters by the ministry of health and by rural residents are another contributing factor. The manner in which these characteristics of the rural health system reduce the productivity of health resources and the quality of care is discussed. The authors suggest that the organization of a rural health corps could resolve the main flaws inherent in the use of the pasantia and strengthen the work of the promoters.

Rural health promotion: bailiwick for social work.

A variety of factors have prompted increasing interest in prevention in health care practice in this country. In describing a rural health promotion project in which a social worker played a key role, this article illustrates how social work practitioners can bring their many skills to bear in efforts to promote health.

A tri-county needs assessment for the purpose of rural health promotion program development.

A tri-county needs assessment for the purpose of rural health promotion program development.

Nutrition, family planning, and health promotion: the Guatemalan program of primary health care.

ABSTRACT: This paper describes SINAPS, a program of primary health care in Guatemala, planned by the Ministry of Public Health (MOH), Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), and the Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama (INCAP). The objective was to design, implement, and evaluate a program of primary health care in Guatemala based on service delivery by non‐professional personnel. These personnel consist of Auxiliary Nurses (AN), Rural Health Technicians (RHT), Rural Health Promoters (RHP), and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA).SINAPS activities are focused on immunizations, food supplementation, oral rehydration of children suffering from dehydration, family planning, perinatal surveillance, and promotion of health and environmental sanitation, with the participation of the community. This limited set of interventions is aimed at controlling the most important causes of death and disability in mothers and children in a cost‐effective way.