By Brechje Oonk
The Public Health and medical care program that VIN started in 2010 for the Jitpurphedi community has come to an end after five years of its implement. During these five years VIN was involved in projects that aimed to improve health, hygiene and sanitation in the community and schools. Moreover, health post received support and staffs received trainings by VIN to strengthen the care that could be given. At this time, VIN wants to know the level of impact from VIN’s public health and medical care program in the health of the people living in that community. VIN is conducting a research regarding the same. Volunteers with medical background and those who are interested in public health are currently assessing this by conducting an impact study in Jitpurphedi.
The volunteers prepared interview guide and observation checklists that focussed on personal health and hygiene, in the first week of July itself. The other week, they visited the communities and schools to collect data that is going to be analysed at the end of the month. Besides, the volunteers who are the students of medicine will go to the health post in Kavresthali twice a week to assist Dr. Laxmi Ghimire from VIN.
Currently we are in the middle of the data collection process. There are a total of six members in the research team. Three of them are the international volunteers and three are local volunteers. The local volunteers are also helping with the translation. The team visited two schools and numerous households of Kavresthali the last week. This week the team is doing the same in Jitpurphedi.
After we are done with our research, we are going to organize focus group discussions which will address the impact of VIN’s health program in-depth. All the different information will then have to be entered into the computer and analysed. At the end of July we hopefully have an insight on the effect of the public health and medical care program.
