3 research outputs found
Gambian Women’s Struggles through Collective Action
Women have a long history of organizing collective action in The Gambia. Between the 1970s to the 1990s, they were instrumental to The Gambia’s politics. Yet they have held no political power within its government. This paper argues that, since authorities failed to serve women’s interests, Gambian women resorted to using collective action to overcome their challenges through kafoolu and kompins [women’s grassroots organizations] operating in the rural and urban areas. They shifted their efforts towards organizations that focused on social and political change. These women’s organizations grew significantly as they helped women to promote social and economic empowerment. The women cultivated political patronage with male political leaders to achieve their goals. Political leaders who needed popular support to buttress their political power under the new republican government cash in patronage. Thus, this study relies on primary data from oral interviews. Secondary sources such as academic journals, books, and policy reports provide context to the study
The Gambia: Citizenship and Civic Consciousness
Citizens are an important component of national development enterprise. This is because citizenship is crucial to the promotion of nationhood. But being a citizen alone means very little if it does not come with certain responsibilities and civic consciousness. Through the historical lens of The Gambia, this paper argues, an understanding of citizenship and civic consciousness is necessary for sustained national development. It draws an interrelation among these concepts. Therefore, supports for responsible citizenship through education and emphasizes education’s role in attaining national development. Also, this paper refers to primary and secondary sources. It uses oral interviews, content analysis of government publications, academic journals, books, and media reports to provide context to the paper. The article suggests some viable strategies for sustainable national development in The Gambia such as free and fair election, informed citizenry, visionary leadership and vibrant civil society organizations
Naisten kokemukset vulvodyniasta ja sen hoidosta : kuvaileva kirjallisuuskatsaus
Vulvodynia on vulvan alueen krooninen kiputila, joka on kestänyt yli kolme kuukautta. Kipua hallitsee polttava, pistävä, ärsyttävä tai raastava tunne, eikä sen taustalta löydy muuta syytä. Vulvodynian tuoma krooninen kipu heikentää naisen elämänlaatua. Se aiheuttaa häpeää, ahdistusta, masennusta, vaikuttaa itsetuntoon, varjostaa parisuhde-elämää ja muuntaa seksuaali-identiteettiä. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli kuvata naisten kokemuksia vulvodyniasta ja sen hoidosta. Tavoitteena oli tuottaa ajantasaista kirjallista tietoa vulvodyniasta ja sen hoitokokemuksista terveydenhuollon henkilöstön tietoisuuteen sekä sosiaali- ja terveysalan opiskelijoille, jotta vulvodyniasta kärsivien naisten hoitoa voitaisiin kehittää saatujen tulosten avulla.
Opinnäytetyö toteutettiin kuvailevana kirjallisuuskatsauksena. Aineisto kerättiin käyttäen hoito-, lääke- ja terveystieteellisiä tietokantoja. Aineistoksi valittiin yhteensä 9 tieteellistä artikkelia, joista 2 oli suomenkielisiä ja 7 englanninkielisiä. Valitut tutkimukset käsittelivät naisten kokemuksia vulvodyniasta ja sen hoidosta. Aineisto analysoitiin induktiivisella sisällönanalyysillä.
Tuloksien mukaan naisten kokemukset vulvodyniasta ja sen hoidosta olivat pääosin negatiivisia. Vulvodynia vaikutti naisten elämään kokonaisvaltaisesti heikentäen elämänlaatua. Naiset kokivat vulvodynian vaikuttavan minäkuvaan, henkiseen hyvinvointiin, ihmis- ja parisuhteisiin, seksielämään sekä perhesuunnitteluun. Kumppanin, läheisten, vertaisten ja hoitavan tahon tuki oli naisille tärkeää. Naiset kokivat vulvodynian hoidon huonoksi, sillä sairaus tunnettiin terveydenhuollossa heikosti. Naiset kokivat usein olleensa väärin ymmärrettyjä ja heidät myös diagnosoitiin väärin. Hoitoon pääseminen ja hoidon saaminen oli naisten mielestä vaikeaa. Väärät hoitokeinot ja huono kivunlievitys altistivat naiset uusille terveysongelmille.
Vulvodyniaa ja naisten hoitokokemuksia tulisi tutkia lisää tulevaisuudessa myös Suomessa. Terveydenhuollon henkilöstön tietoisuutta vulvodyniasta, sen tutkimuksista ja hoidosta tulisi lisätä, jotta naisten kokemukset sairauden hoidosta olisivat myönteisempiä. Julkisen sektorin hoitohenkilöstölle tulisi järjestää aiheeseen liittyviä lisäkoulutuksia, jotta vulvodyniaa sairastavat naiset voitaisiin lähettää ajoissa jatkotutkimuksiin- ja hoitoon.Vulvodynia is chronical pain in vulvar area, that has lasted over three months. The pain is burning, stinging, irritating, or grating feeling in vulvar area and there’s not any other reason behind it that can explain the symptoms. Chronical pain caused by vulvodynia impairs women’s quality of life. Vulvodynia causes shame, anxiety, depression, lowers self-esteem, affects relationships and marriage, and changes sexual identity. The purpose of this thesis is to describe women’s experiences of vulvodynia and its treatment. The aim of this thesis is to provide current information about vulvodynia and its treatment for healthcare staff and health and social care students, so treatment for women suffering from vulvodynia could be improved.
This thesis was conducted as a literary review. The data was collected by using several nursing science, medical and health science databases. 9 research articles were selected which of 2 were in Finnish and 7 in English. The selected research articles were about women’s experiences of vulvodynia and its treatment. The data was analyzed by using qualitative inductive content analysis.
The results show that women’s experiences of vulvodynia and its treatment were mostly negative. Vulvodynia affected women’s lives by lowering their quality of life. Women experienced that vulvodynia affected their self-image, mental health, relationships, sex life and family planning. The support of partner, friends, family, and healthcare staff was important to the women. The women felt that the treatment of vulvodynia was poor, because the condition is not widely known by the healthcare staff. The women felt that they were often misunderstood and diagnosed wrong. The women experienced that it was difficult to get treatment for vulvodynia. Mistreating vulvodynia and poor pain relief put the women to risk at new health problems.
Vulvodynia and women’s experiences should be researched more in Finland. Healthcare staff’s awareness of vulvodynia and its treatment and about vulvodynia research should be increased in order to the women’s experiences of vulvodynia and its treatment would be more positive. For the healthcare staff in public sector should be arranged more education in order to the women with vulvodynia could get further examined and treated