An exploratory analysis of differently focused women's organizations in community development and health.
Loading...
Date
1996
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Two research methods, a correlational survey and a case study method were used
to explore the impact of health focused and economic focused women's
organizations on community development and health. Through the study the
following questions were answered: (i) Is there a difference in the health and
development indicators of the households of Elim Care Group Project members,
Akanani members and members of the community who do not belong to any of the
organizations? (ii) What contribution have these organizations made to individuals'
and/or communities' way of life? (iii) What aspects of these organizations' structure
and/or function strengthen or weaken the organization?
For the correlational survey, quantitative data were collected from three categories of
thirty households each that belonged to Care Group members, Akanani members
and community members who did not belong to any organization. The analysis of the
data showed that both the health focused and economic focused organizations kept
their focus even though their functioning tended to overlap. The health focused
group had a greater impact on health indicators e.g. number of diarrhoea episodes,
respiratory tract infection episodes, nutritional state, while the economic focused
group had greater impact on development indicators e.g. housing, income and
education. The improvement in the development indicators did not influence the
health indicators directly. The qualitative data collected for the case study provided an indepth information
about the case studied. The health focused organization demonstrated stability in its
management. This was composed of health personnel under the employment of the
Department of Health Managing the Care Group was a paid job for them. The
organization was established and supported by the community and therefore
expressed the community's concerns. The economic focused organization provided
opportunities for the rural people to establish money making enterprises. Some of
the problems shown in this study in this regard relate to poor managerial and
business skills that resulted in the production of products that were not readily
marketable in the locality. This caused a lot of anxiety amongst members as
earnings were irregular. The differences in the structure and functioning of the groups were analysed. These
influenced the effectiveness and continued viability of the organizations.
Description
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1996.
Keywords
Women's health services--South Africa., Theses--Nursing., Elim Health Care Group Project (Limpopo Province), Community health services--Limpopo Province--Hlanganani.