The Use of National Youth Service Corp Members to Build AIDS Competent Communities in Rural Edo State Nigeria

This paper focuses on the community component of a larger action research project on HIV Prevention for Rural Youth (HP4RY), funded by the Global Health Research Initiative (Canada). It began with ethnographic research in 10 communities selected using geographic representative sampling and random assignment to one of three research arms. Using the AIDS Competent Community (ACC) model developed by Catherine Campbell, the ethnographic research identified factors in six domains that contributed to youth vulnerability to HIV infection. This was followed by recruitment, training and deployment of three overlapping cohorts of young adults (n=40) serving in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corp (NYSC), to mobilize youth and adults in the communities to increase communities’ AIDS competence over a nearly 2 year period. Monthly reports of these Corpers, observations of a Field Coordinator, and community feedback supported the conclusion that communities moved towards greater AIDS competence and reduction in youth vulnerability to HIV infection. Cet article se concentre sur la partie communautaire d’un plus grand projet de recherche d’action sur la prevention du VIH en faveur de la jeunesse rurale, financé par le Global Health Initiative (Canada). L’étude a commencé avec la recherche ethnographique dans 10 communautés choisies à l’aide d’un échantillon représentatif géographique et une attribution aléatoire à une des trois sections de recherche. A l’aide du modèle de la Communauté Compétente du SIDA (CCA), élaboré par Catherine Campbell, la recherche ethnographique a identifié des facteurs dans six domaines qui ont contribué à la vulnérabilité des jeunes à l’infection du VIH. Ensuite, il y a eu le recrutement, la formation et le déplacement de trois cohortes de jeunes adultes qui se recoupent (n=40), engagés dans le service national de jeunes, pour mobiliser les jeunes et les adultes dans la communauté du SIDA au cours de d’environ deux ans. Des rapports mensuels de ces jeunes en service national, les observations d’un coordinateur sur le terrain et une réaction communautaire ont soutenu la conclusion que les communautés ont avancée vers une meilleure compétence du SIDA et une réduction dans la vulnérabilité des jeunes à l’infection du VIH

Acesso aos serviços de saúde: uma abordagem de geografia em saúde pública Access to health services: a geographical approach to public health

O acesso da população aos serviços de saúde é um pré-requisito de fundamental importância para uma eficiente assistência à saúde. A localização geográfica dos serviços é um dos fatores que interferem nessa acessibilidade. Pretendeu-se estudar a localização dos serviços de saúde. A proposta básica foi a de apresentação de uma metodologia considerando-se as relações de variáveis geográficas, demográficas e sociais. Enfatizou-se, no processo, a participação da comunidade. Efetuou-se o estudo da adequação dessa metodologia às características da região de Santo Amaro, Município de São Paulo, Brasil. A contribuição dada pela abordagem geográfica abre ampla perspectiva quanto ao estabelecimento de novas linhas de estudo, planejamento e gestão, advindas do intercâmbio entre a Geografia Humana e a Saúde Pública, numa área que se sugere denominar Geografia em Saúde Pública.<br>The access of the population to the health services is a requirement of basic importance for the efficiency of health assistance. The geographical localization of the services is one of the factors that interfere with this accessibility. It is intended to make a contribution to the study of the localization of health services. The basic proposal introduces a method which takes into account the relationships between geographical, demographical and social variables. Emphasis is placed on community participation in the process. The study of the adequacy of this method was undertaken under the regional characteristics of Santo Amaro, a suburb of the city of S. Paulo, Brazil. The contribution furnished by the geographical approach in this work opens up a broad perspective for the setting up of new lines of research, planning and administration resulting from the interation between human geography and public health within the common field for which it is suggested Geography of Public Health