Community Participation and the Effect of Participatory Research in South-Western Ethiopia
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Date
1995-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
A descriptive study was conducted from October
1994 to March 1995 to document the patterns and
determinants o f community p a rticipation (CP) in 25
peasant associ at ion s in Seka Chekorsa Wo r e da. An
experimen tal componen t o f the study tested the e ffect
o f participatory r e search (PR ) on t he measurement and
promot ion o f CPo
The study address the barri ers to fuller
communities participation in health development
activities despite the high demand from the health
sector.
Ov e r half (52 . 5%) o f communi t y members rep o r ted
partic ipatio n i n h ealth activ i t i e s wi t hin the preceding
month . Most common forms of participation reported
were contribution of labor (31.2%) or materials (11 . 9%)
and attending meetings regarding health development
(29 . 9%). Communities were most likely to identify more
passive forms of CP, including s ervice utilization
(60 . 9%), attending meetings (44.8%), and contri bution
o f materi a l o r l abo r (33 . 9%) Few (11.2%) indi c a ted
that CP implied involvement in dec ision making and
planning. Key barriers to promotion of CP in health
inc luded poor c ommuni t y aware ness of roles and
responsibilities, lack of technical and f inancial
res ources , and lack o f strategies and orga nizational
structures to promote CPo
PR was ef f ective in increas~ng community awareness
of CP, and in increas i ng r ates of part i c ipa t ion ,
including through attending mee t ~ngs and through
decision making
the development
and planning . S:rengthening CP through
of clear strateg~es and policies and
decentral ization of financial and technicial resources
togethe r with utilization of existing mutual self help
soc ieties such a s funeral soc ieties (Edi r ) were
recomended in order to improve health development
programs .
Description
Keywords
Community Participation