I knew this would happen. I knew I would start a blog with grand intentions only to fail miserably. I have never been great at cataloging, especially personal experiences. Every diary I have ever kept is half finished; all of which, may I add, are as emotionally stirring as a collection of re-purposed Coldplay lyrics can be. If I knew what tumblr was I think I would be onto something...
Hopefully, this blog is not spiraling down the same path.
The last four weeks have been full of ups and downs. Our project had grown in size and we were happy to feel like we were actually contributing. And then we hit a hiccup that felt like a closing door. This discovery was simultaneous with a bad paratha, from an expensive food court of all places; I was sick for days and so we holed up in our apartment.
On day three of the re-evaluation process we came up with something. It is a combination of patient held medical records for pregnant women, support accessing local resources from established women's groups in the community and follow-ups conducted by the community mobilizers. We will be distributing the card for a field test next Monday. To support the "pregnancy diary," as we have dubbed it, we created a new patient history form used by the community mobilizers (CMs) and GRC during health clinics. For this form we prioritized current best practices and potential best practices. Time is also a serious factor; the GRC staff spends at least 75% of their day filing out paper work. The form is meant to (1) support the pregnancy diary but can also be used alone and (2) be easily incorporated into an electronic system.
Additionally, we have been creating a manual that outlines data collection practices and information flows to prepare for the pilot project next summer. We updated the existing database of clinics to reflect current services and costs, with the aim to plot EmOC providers. Finally, we mapped all current self help groups that the GRC supports. This will serve two functions: (1) as per the new project proposal, SHGs will now function as community support for pregnant women and (2) visualize the SHGs within the catchment area to prioritize locations for subsequent groups.
Tomorrow we present our first draft manual, the pregnancy diary and the new patient history form. Wish us luck!
Hopefully, this blog is not spiraling down the same path.
The last four weeks have been full of ups and downs. Our project had grown in size and we were happy to feel like we were actually contributing. And then we hit a hiccup that felt like a closing door. This discovery was simultaneous with a bad paratha, from an expensive food court of all places; I was sick for days and so we holed up in our apartment.
On day three of the re-evaluation process we came up with something. It is a combination of patient held medical records for pregnant women, support accessing local resources from established women's groups in the community and follow-ups conducted by the community mobilizers. We will be distributing the card for a field test next Monday. To support the "pregnancy diary," as we have dubbed it, we created a new patient history form used by the community mobilizers (CMs) and GRC during health clinics. For this form we prioritized current best practices and potential best practices. Time is also a serious factor; the GRC staff spends at least 75% of their day filing out paper work. The form is meant to (1) support the pregnancy diary but can also be used alone and (2) be easily incorporated into an electronic system.
Additionally, we have been creating a manual that outlines data collection practices and information flows to prepare for the pilot project next summer. We updated the existing database of clinics to reflect current services and costs, with the aim to plot EmOC providers. Finally, we mapped all current self help groups that the GRC supports. This will serve two functions: (1) as per the new project proposal, SHGs will now function as community support for pregnant women and (2) visualize the SHGs within the catchment area to prioritize locations for subsequent groups.
Tomorrow we present our first draft manual, the pregnancy diary and the new patient history form. Wish us luck!
NEVER AGAIN:
