IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v264y2020ics0277953620305165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Using an ethics of care lens to understand the place of community health workers in Rwanda's maternal healthcare system

Author

Listed:
  • Tuyisenge, Germaine
  • Crooks, Valorie A.
  • Berry, Nicole S.

Abstract

This study explores the informal care roles involved in the delivery of maternal health services by Rwanda's elected maternal community health workers. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 such workers in five Rwandan districts to explore their understandings of why they were elected for this voluntary position; what motivates them to fulfill their responsibilities; and their experiences of providing maternal health services in a resource-limited context. Thematically exploring the findings using an ethics of care lens, we highlight how responsibility, vulnerability and mutuality inform the place of these workers' roles in the maternal care system and their villages. We conclude by acknowledging the significant responsibilities assigned by these works and that the burden that may result from taking on such care may negatively affect the sustainability of this initiative.

Suggested Citation

  • Tuyisenge, Germaine & Crooks, Valorie A. & Berry, Nicole S., 2020. "Using an ethics of care lens to understand the place of community health workers in Rwanda's maternal healthcare system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:264:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620305165
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113297
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953620305165
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113297?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kpienbaareh, Daniel & Atuoye, Kilian N. & Ngabonzima, Anaclet & Bagambe, Patrick G. & Rulisa, Stephen & Luginaah, Isaac & Cechetto, David F., 2019. "Spatio-temporal disparities in maternal health service utilization in Rwanda: What next for SDGs?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 164-175.
    2. Maes, Kenneth & Kalofonos, Ippolytos, 2013. "Becoming and remaining community health workers: Perspectives from Ethiopia and Mozambique," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 52-59.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wee Chan Au & Siân Stephens, 2023. "I Am Not Just a Nurse: The Need for a Boundaried Ethic of Care in the Context of Prolific Relationality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 493-510, September.
    2. Yaovi Tossou, 2021. "Prenatal consultation and survival of children under five in Togo," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(6), pages 2336-2350, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Edward, Anbrasi & Branchini, Casey & Aitken, Iain & Roach, Melissa & Osei-Bonsu, Kojo & Arwal, Said Habib, 2015. "Toward universal coverage in Afghanistan: A multi-stakeholder assessment of capacity investments in the community health worker system," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 173-183.
    2. Tao, Zhuolin & Cheng, Yang & Du, Shishuai & Feng, Ling & Wang, Shaoshuai, 2020. "Accessibility to delivery care in Hubei Province, China," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 260(C).
    3. Ziegler, Bianca R. & Kansanga, Moses & Sano, Yuji & Kangmennaang, Joseph & Kpienbaareh, Daniel & Luginaah, Isaac, 2020. "Antenatal care utilization in the fragile and conflict-affected context of the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    4. Mahbubur Rahman & Tania Jahir & Farzana Yeasmin & Farzana Begum & Mosammot Mobashara & Khobair Hossain & Rizwana Khan & Rezwana Hossain & Fosiul Alam Nizame & Anika Jain & Elli Leontsini & Leanne Unic, 2021. "The Lived Experiences of Community Health Workers Serving in a Large-Scale Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Intervention Trial in Rural Bangladesh," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-14, March.
    5. Rima R. Habib & Dana A. Halwani & Diana Mikati & Layal Hneiny, 2020. "Sex and Gender in Research on Healthcare Workers in Conflict Settings: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Maes, Kenneth & Closser, Svea & Tesfaye, Yihenew & Abesha, Roza, 2019. "Psychosocial distress among unpaid community health workers in rural Ethiopia: Comparing leaders in Ethiopia's Women's Development Army to their peers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 138-146.
    7. Bukenya, Badru & Golooba-Mutebi, Frederick, 2020. "What explains sub-national variation in maternal mortality rates within developing countries? A political economy explanation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    8. Closser, Svea & Maes, Kenneth & Gong, Erick & Sharma, Neha & Tesfaye, Yihenew & Abesha, Roza & Hyman, Mikayla & Meyer, Natalie & Carpenter, Jeffrey, 2020. "Political connections and psychosocial wellbeing among Women's Development Army leaders in rural amhara, Ethiopia: Towards a holistic understanding of community health workers' socioeconomic status," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    9. Bianca R Ziegler & Moses Kansanga & Yuji Sano & Joseph Kangmennaang & Daniel Kpienbaareh & Isaac Luginaah, 2021. "Antenatal care and skilled birth in the fragile and conflict‐affected situation of Burundi," International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(4), pages 1081-1106, July.
    10. Hampshire, Kate & Mwase-Vuma, Tawonga & Alemu, Kassahun & Abane, Albert & Munthali, Alister & Awoke, Tadesse & Mariwah, Simon & Chamdimba, Elita & Owusu, Samuel Asiedu & Robson, Elsbeth & Castelli, Mi, 2021. "Informal mhealth at scale in Africa: Opportunities and challenges," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    11. Wintrup, James, 2022. "Promising careers? A critical analysis of a randomised control trial in community health worker recruitment in Zambia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    12. Wintrup, James, 2023. "Health by the people, again? The lost lessons of Alma-Ata in a community health worker programme in Zambia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    13. Samuel Manda & Ndamonaonghenda Haushona & Robert Bergquist, 2020. "A Scoping Review of Spatial Analysis Approaches Using Health Survey Data in Sub-Saharan Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-20, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:264:y:2020:i:c:s0277953620305165. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.