December 22nd, 2014 by Rachel | Tags: Disability, Health, Peace Corps | No Comments »
In order to identify which issue needs the most attention and understand how to solve problems in a community, all Peace Corps Volunteers are typically required to do an assignment called Community Needs Assessment during the first three months at their post. There are various ways to do Community Needs Assessment. One could go door-to-door and conduct informal interviews by sitting down and having coffee or tea with the community members or just simply do a survey at the door. Another could attend meetings hosted by organizations or common interest groups and conduct interviews there. Doing the assignment also helps us get to know people in the community, improve our foreign language skills, and have a new perspective of the community.
Me interviewing a gentleman with a mobility disability due to polio.
In the past two days, I have interviewed 16 people with disability and will be continuing to interview many more in the next month. I am using various methods to help me identify what are the biggest issues relating to health in the disability community in Bamenda. I created a survey that helps me acquire the basic profile of people and find out if people with disability are able to access healthcare facilities, acquire resources to help improve their quality of life as persons with disability, access water and food and get education. I conduct the survey by interviewing each individual one-on-one in their home or at their workplace. While my survey has mostly multiple choice answers, I take notes. Because my Pidgin English is still not proficient, I have one person from my community such as my counterpart or work person from the organization with whom I work accompany me so that if the person who I interview struggles to understand what I say, the person who accompanies me can translate what I say. In fact, I interviewed one individual whose native language was French and did not know English very well and therefore, I spoke in French. The person who accompanies me also helps me locate people with disability. Besides conducting surveys and interview, I have also been acquiring research studies from a professor at University of Toronto who focuses her research on people with disability in Northwest and also a PhD student at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine who just completed her thesis on people with disability in Northwest. Their studies have been helpful giving me a background of what issues exactly exist in Bamenda. However, as I conduct interviews, I have been finding some very surprising information that makes me realize that people with disability is one of the most vulnerable population when facing health-related issues and also that some of the disabilities could have been easily prevented or treated.
Three people who have mobility impairment became disabled from Quinimax injection. This result really struck a chord because during my training, a Peace Corps Medical Officer told us that if we are ever in a hospital, we must ensure that we do not get these two drugs, Quinimax and Chloramphenicol, by injection. When I learned that these three people became disabled from the injection, I immediately wondered if healthcare providers in Cameroon are well aware of the problem and that they should no longer give these two injections.
Most who have visually impairment and/or mobility impairment and do not have direct access to water in their home cannot fetch water themselves from a pump, well or river/stream/lake. They have to pay someone or find a neighbor to get water for them. Many also cannot shop for food and cook due to their disability. Some pay someone to buy food and cook for them or have a family member do all the food responsibilities.
One individual who I interviewed has club feet. It was upsetting to see an adult with club feet because it is an issue that can be easily treated shortly after the child is born. I met one blind man who became suddenly became blind later in life and said that he believes that his blindness was caused by spirituality. Some visually impaired people do not have a white can and use a walking stick instead to navigate. One said he does not have a white cane because getting access to it is difficult. He applied to get one through an association and has not yet received it.
So far, my interviews have been confirming that acquiring education as a person with disability is a huge obstacle. Many dropped out in high school due to financial reasons. One needed money to have operations. Another had her father pass away and therefore, no longer had someone in the family to provide financial support. I met a young man who has mobility disability and is visually impaired and he has never attended school simply because his family felt he could not learn and it was not worth the investment. I noticed that the man did not wear hearing aids and his sister had to repeat what I said to him by talking right into his ear.
Also, as expected, many do not have access to rehabilitation services or a healthcare facility due to lack of money and awareness.
These results are just a sample of issues that exist. I will continue to update everyone on my findings and once I have collected enough data, I will inform which area of issue I will focus on working. The choice will be made based on which issue is the most prevalent and also can be most solvable.
