Gender responsive programming: An approach to planning and implementation

Gender responsive programming
An approach to planning and implementation
Elena McEwan, MD
Senior Technical Adviser
Catholic Relief Services
Core Spring meeting, April 2010

What does Gender mean?
Gender refers to a set of qualities and behaviors expected from males and females by society.
Gender roles are socially determined and can be affected by factors such as education or economics. They may vary widely within and between cultures, and often evolve over time.

What does Sex mean?
Sex refers to the biological differences between males and females. Sex differences are related to males’ and females’ physiology

Catholic Social Teaching & Gender Responsive Programming
Integral Human Development
To better understand the complex world of the communities we serve and design programs that improve livelihood outcomes and increase household resiliency

Catholic Social Teaching
To promote right relationships among all people by ensuring that men and women have the opportunity, capacity, voice and support they need to participate on an equal basis, to realize their full potential, and to reduce the disparities and imbalances of power including those which exist between men and women.

Catholic Social Teaching- Guiding Principles
Sacredness and Dignity of the Human Person
Rights and Responsibilities
Social Nature of Humanity
Solidarity
Option for the Poor

The use of a Gender lens in CRS programs
Project cycle:
Pre proposal:
Secondary data disaggregated by sex
Seek & analysis of information (health outcomes vs. gender issues)
Include both (women and men)for feasible solutions to the same problem
Proposal development and implementation:
Innovation: Changing men’s behavior regarding health care
How to measure and evaluate its contribution to better health outcomes

Changing men’s behaviors regarding care during partner’s pregnancy, delivery and post-partum/neo-natal periods:

Which danger signs would make men seek help
During pregnancy:
26% of men mentioned bleeding,
15% fever or abdominal pain and
33% did not know of any sign.
During delivery:
31% mentioned bleeding,
14% fever and
32% did not know any sign
During postpartum period:
29% mentioned bleeding,
13% fever and
17% did not know any sign
Danger sings in newborns:
41% mentioned fever
17% rapid and difficult breathing.
Source: CSP Baseline, 2008

What is the problem in seeking care?

Systematic approach for behavior change Planning and Strategy Development Developing and Pretesting Concepts, Messages, and Materials Implementing The Strategy Assessing Effectiveness and Making Refinements 3 2 4 1

Organization of targeted communities
Field work
Findings analysis and development of community strategies
First Phase: Formative Research

What is the problem?
Formative research findings:
Reasons why men don’t get involved in wife and children health:
Don’t know how to do it
Lack of communication with wife regarding pregnancy
Lack of motivation due to feeling left out by the health staff during care
They feel embarrassed to be seen by other women when taking care of the newborns

Second Phase: Probing phase and development of BCC materials
Key behaviors /% achievement
Collect fire woods and water: 76%
Support wife with household work: 100%
Take care of newborn and older children day and night: 71%
Feed children (one snack and dinner): 98%
Agree with wife to stay at the maternity waiting home seven days post partum: 75%
Find someone to take care of the house while he goes with wife to HU: 80%

Key behaviors, cont…
Go with wife to ANC, ask questions during care: 66%
Go with wife to HC stay in the delivery room during labor and delivery: 50%

Conclusions:
Behaviors practiced during the probing phase are feasible and men were willing to try them
Include in the BCC strategy the health staff to change behaviors
Of the ten selected behaviors only 8 were practiced, but not due to men willingness but related to the program
Learning curve of field staff
A behavior related to seeking care during L&D (date of the birth was miscalculated)
Some behaviors couldn’t be evaluated because the man was not at home during the visit

Thank you!

Gender responsive programming: An approach to planning and implementation

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Gender responsive programming: An approach to planning and implementation — Presentation Transcript