Milken Institute School of Public Health Poster Presentations (Marvin Center & Video)

Poster Number

25g

Document Type

Poster

Status

Graduate Student - Masters

Abstract Category

Global Health

Keywords

Women's Health, Reproductive Health, Global Health, Obstetric Fistula, Gender Disparities

Streaming Media

Publication Date

Spring 2018

Abstract

Background: Obstetric fistula is a condition experienced by women who because of prolonged labor become incontinent forming one or more holes in between the rectum and the vagina or the vagina and the bladder (Heller, A., 2017). The hole causes uncontrollable stool and urine to leak from the woman. For most women with obstetric fistula, the duration of the labor leading to fistula varied between 5 hours and 9 days, averaging 3.0 days long (Heller, A., 2017). Women who suffer from this from this condition are do not have access to quality medical care. While prevention is the priority and will yield the greatest impact to end obstetric fistula, outreach services for those who are already living with the condition is also essential.

Objective: This review will be to a) analyze effective outreach services to treat women with obstetric fistula; and b) identify gaps, challenges, and impact of outreach activities. This critical analysis is to explore approaches to increase demand of obstetric fistula and the process for matching those who need obstetric fistula surgery with a health facility and surgeon who is equipped to repair the condition.

Methods: A literature review was conducted using the following databases; PubMed, Medline, Scopus, AJPH and other relevant sources without a specific date range to include any research ever published. Only original empirical research published in English was included.

Results and Discussion: The results of each of these studies reveals that locating women with obstetric fistula is challenging but through strategic intervention, the number of women who are repaired is steadily increasing. Thirteen articles matched the research topic of outreach to obstetric fistula patients. The outreach design needs to be driven by the country context to be effective. The thirteen studies focused on outreach and are categorized into five groups, community mobilization, screening, increase knowledge & awareness, communication campaign, and fistula camps.

Conclusion: Outreach programs should consist of efficient coordination and collaboration, particularly between entities implementing different types of outreach interventions. Efficient outreach programmes can reduce the length of time before women are repaired because of effective coordination. For instance, the outreach intervention focusing on increasing awareness should be linked to screening within the community. Additionally, strengthening the health system at the subnational level is essential to have effective sensitization and community mobilization programs.

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(VIDEO) Outreach services to treat women living with obstetric fistula: A systematic review

Background: Obstetric fistula is a condition experienced by women who because of prolonged labor become incontinent forming one or more holes in between the rectum and the vagina or the vagina and the bladder (Heller, A., 2017). The hole causes uncontrollable stool and urine to leak from the woman. For most women with obstetric fistula, the duration of the labor leading to fistula varied between 5 hours and 9 days, averaging 3.0 days long (Heller, A., 2017). Women who suffer from this from this condition are do not have access to quality medical care. While prevention is the priority and will yield the greatest impact to end obstetric fistula, outreach services for those who are already living with the condition is also essential.

Objective: This review will be to a) analyze effective outreach services to treat women with obstetric fistula; and b) identify gaps, challenges, and impact of outreach activities. This critical analysis is to explore approaches to increase demand of obstetric fistula and the process for matching those who need obstetric fistula surgery with a health facility and surgeon who is equipped to repair the condition.

Methods: A literature review was conducted using the following databases; PubMed, Medline, Scopus, AJPH and other relevant sources without a specific date range to include any research ever published. Only original empirical research published in English was included.

Results and Discussion: The results of each of these studies reveals that locating women with obstetric fistula is challenging but through strategic intervention, the number of women who are repaired is steadily increasing. Thirteen articles matched the research topic of outreach to obstetric fistula patients. The outreach design needs to be driven by the country context to be effective. The thirteen studies focused on outreach and are categorized into five groups, community mobilization, screening, increase knowledge & awareness, communication campaign, and fistula camps.

Conclusion: Outreach programs should consist of efficient coordination and collaboration, particularly between entities implementing different types of outreach interventions. Efficient outreach programmes can reduce the length of time before women are repaired because of effective coordination. For instance, the outreach intervention focusing on increasing awareness should be linked to screening within the community. Additionally, strengthening the health system at the subnational level is essential to have effective sensitization and community mobilization programs.

 

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