How Can Participation of the Community and Traditional Healers Improve Primary Health Care in Kinshasa, Congo?

Abstract

Discusses the different steps in the action-research project in one impoverished shanty town in Kishasa, Congo. The working hypothesis for this project is that the functioning of primary health care could be improved by innovative forms of community participation built on knowledge of the users and on social dynamics in the community. This exploratory qualitative and quantitative study enabled the authors to understand the apparently chaotic health care practices, help-seeking patterns of households, and the effect of sociocultural transitions on health care in general. The activities and some of the processes of intervention are described. The discussion concludes with the results of the action and how they feed back to the original working hypothesis. The results confirm that it is possible to improve the quality and access of locally provided health care. The feedback was used to refine the working hypothesis, set priorities and translate decisions into action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)