Title: Women's choices of health agents in Tanzania.

POPLINE Document Number: 193546

Author(s):

McCurdy S

Source citation:

In: Women's health and apartheid: the health of women and children and the future of progressive primary health care in Southern Africa, edited by Marcia Wright, Zena Stein and Jean Scandlyn. New York, New York, Columbia University, 1988. :114-29.

Abstract:

As the primary health care decision makers for their families, women make decisions that can be analyzed to determine the health care needs of communities, and how to improve health care systems. Standardized interviews and informal discussions were used to analyze the health care decisions of 60 women from 3 villages in the Iringa region of Tanzania. An introductory section describes the Tanzanian government, and international agencies providing primary health care in Tanzania. 1 village, Luduga, had higher utilization of biomedical services. This village has a higher rate of miscarriages and stillbirths, and problems with pregnancy was the most common reason for delivery in a hospital. Distance from the hospital site did not appear to be a major factor affecting attendance. In Luduga, little knowledge of traditional medicine has been retained, compared to the other 2 villages where the biomedical health system is used less often. The role of traditional birth attendants appears to be changing, as many traditions remain intact in Makangarawe, but in Luduga they simply escort women to the hospital. Despite the presence of a local dispensary in Luduga, women consider the care their inadequate, and prefer to travel 2 hours to a mission hospital. Local government opposition to traditional medicine appears to have contributed significantly to its decline in Luduga.

Keywords:

Tanzania
Africa South of the Sahara
Africa
Health Facilities
Health Services
Maternal Health Services
Evaluation
Medicine, Traditional
Primary Health Care
Qualitative Evaluation
Program Acceptability
Health Services Evaluation
Indigenous Health Services
Program Accessibility
Surveys
Rural Health Services
Research Report
Women
Africa, Eastern
Developing Countries
Delivery of Health Care
Health
Maternal-Child Health Services
Medicine
Program Evaluation
Programs
Organization and Administration
Sampling Studies
Studies
Research Methodology
Demographic Factors
Population