Study: Women Prefer to Go to Female Health Workers
Researchers recently completed a study of a new method of giving health care to women in Northern Nigeria. They found women and children would use health services more often when they could see a female health worker.
Northern Nigeria is conservative area with a population that is mostly Muslim. Dr. Sally Findley is a professor at Columbia University Medical Center. She co-wrote the report on the study. She said it is unusual for women to work as health care providers there.
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest death rates of women connected with pregnancy and childbirth. This is called the “maternal death” rate.
Male health workers do travel from town to town, but many women patients do not want to talk with a man about their own health care needs.
The program brought women into northern Nigeria as Community Health Extension Workers. It seems they were a big success in their community. There were five times more visits to the health center after the women health workers arrived than before. Dr. Finley said the program changed the minds of the women taking part.
The women of northern Nigeria could get health care at all hours in the local clinic. Mothers got help from women when they had normal births.
State officials in Jigawa were happy with the positive results of the study. They plan to expand the program of women community health workers.
