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The Results of a Roundtable Discussion Involving Young Women in a Rural Community in Enugu State, NigeriaDOI: 10.4236/oalib.1104322, PP. 1-9 Subject Areas: Public Health Keywords: Health Status, Poor Sanitation, Poor Personal Hygiene, Open Defecation, Infectious Agents, Contaminated Drinking Water, Early Marriages, Early Sexual Activities, Income-Generating Domestic Skills Abstract
Introduction: Eleven young
women ages 18 to
20 years living in a rural community in Enugu State, Nigeria participated in a
roundtable discussion to identify major health concerns facing them in their
rural community. The main purpose of the discussion was to initiate empowerment
process among these young women and to use data collected to seek ways to improve
the health status of young women in this rural community. Method: These women were recruited
by word of mouth and consented to participate in the discussion. The roundtable
format provided a friendly environment, which permitted each of the young women
to speak in acknowledgement of concerns raised by others or to add their own
concerns. Collectively, these women identified a litany of concerns and
challenges which they believe pose a threat to their health in the rural
community. Health Concerns/Issues Identified: Their priority concerns
were poor sanitation—leading to poor personal hygiene, open defecation—exposing
them to infectious agents, contaminated drinking water, early marriages usually
to older men—to provide financial support to the family, early sexual activities
with older men—to get money to take care of personal needs, and lack of income
generating domestic skills—to take care of personal hygiene needs, which they
ranked as the number one priority.
Conclusion: Participation in the
roundtable discussion created a bond among these women. A non-profit private
foundation has agreed to sponsor demonstrations of domestic skills that can
generate income for these young women, but their concerns warrant public health
attention.
Uzochukwu, M. E. (2018). The Results of a Roundtable Discussion Involving Young Women in a Rural Community in Enugu State, Nigeria. Open Access Library Journal, 5, e4322. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1104322. References
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