Abstract
Introduction
Vanuatu is a South Pacific island nation with limited resources and dispersed communities. Healthcare provision and population health data is lacking; and women have been an historically undervalued, underserved group. This needs assessment was completed by mothers in the area surrounding a health clinic in Vanuatu to better inform the clinic’s service expansion.
Methods
In a period of six weeks, 60 parous women, between 17 and 66 years old, were interviewed in their native language (Bislama). Participants provided verbal responses to 29 questions targeting family health needs and pregnancy experiences. The questionnaire was constructed from WHO and UNICEF surveys. Descriptive statistics were calculated.
Results
Primary care complaints were the most common health concerns reported by participants. Few women (43.3%, 26/60) knew what a sexually transmitted infection was, and 38.3% (23/60) knew a place offering HIV testing. Thirty percent (18/60) never had a pelvic exam. During their last pregnancies, 98.3% (59/60) received prenatal care with a median of five visits and variable health education. Injectable (65.2%, 15/23) and oral contraception (21.7%, 5/23) were the most utilized family planning methods; one person used condoms (4.3%, 1/23). Eighty-seven percent (52/60) felt unsafe walking through their neighborhoods at night.
Discussion
General knowledge and utilization of women’s health resources were limited in this group. The community-based primary care setting could be an important site for future provision of women’s health services. Future studies and interventions in family planning, sexual health, and prenatal care could aid this community.
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Data Availability
Not applicable. We do not plan to publish our data alongside the manuscript.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Family Care Center and staff, especially Melissa Thacker and Anna Harris, and each participant who willingly shared their experiences to help us learn about the health needs of this community. The authors would also like to thank Mary Bolenga, who graciously donated her time to serve as interpreter, community liaison, and women’s health advocate for the researchers in Vanuatu. The University of Rochester Office for Medical Education funded the research project through a medical student grant program.
Funding
This research was funded by a research grant sponsored by the University of Rochester Office for Medical Education.
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Contributions
MLS and BR served as co-principal investigators for the research, which involved designing and conducting the project. Additionally, MLS served as the primary author of the manuscript. SB served in a research advisory role and was instrumental in refining the study design. NS was principally involved in data cleaning and analysis. Additionally, all authors provided feedback and edits throughout the manuscript writing and revision process.
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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
This study received IRB approval through the University of Rochester Medical Center Research Study Review Board.
Consent to Participate
All participants provided verbal consent to participate in the study. The consent for participation read as follows:
“We are inviting you to take part in this study because we would like to get an idea of this community’s health needs. The purpose of this study is to learn more about the health status of local women, which will help the FCC staff better implement their antenatal program. We also seek to identify other health needs you may have in order to better inform the development of future programs at the FCC.
If you decide to take part in this study, you will be asked to answer survey, which includes questions about your health and medical care. We estimate that approximately 100 participants will take part in this study. Your participation will last about 30 minutes.
There are no major risks to participating in this research study. There is a small chance that some of the questions may make you feel uncomfortable. You may skip any questions you don’t want to answer. There are no other expected risks to you for participating in this study. There are also no expected benefits. You will not be paid with money for participating in this study. There will be no cost to you to participate in this study.
Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You are free not to participate or to withdraw at any time, for whatever reason. No matter what decision you make, there will be no penalty or loss of benefit to which you are entitled.
For more information or questions about this research you may call Michelle Woodcock or Betsy Rojas at 001(201) 699–6509.”
Consent for Publication
All participants provided verbal consent for publication. This statement (which was translated to the native language, Bislama) read as follows:
“The University of Rochester will make every effort to keep the information collected from you private. In order to do so, we will not collect any personal identifiers that link the data we collect to you in any way. However, the results of the research may be presented at meetings or in publications, but your name will not be used. Your permission to use your health information for this study will not expire unless you tell us you want to cancel it. We will keep the information we collect about you indefinitely. If you cancel your permission, you will be removed from the study.”
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Shellard, M.L., Rojas, B., Seligman, N. et al. Assessing Women’s Health Needs in the Underserved Island Communities of Vanuatu. Matern Child Health J 25, 1369–1375 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03187-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-021-03187-3