Men’s Educational Group Appointments in Rural Nicaragua

Abstract

Men’s preventive health and wellness is largely neglected in rural Nicaragua, where a machismo culture prevents men from seeking health care. To address this issue, a men’s educational group appointment model was initiated at a rural health post to increase awareness about hypertension, and to train community health leaders to measure blood pressure. Men’s hypertension workshops were conducted with patient knowledge pretesting, didactic teaching, and posttesting. Pretesting and posttesting performances were recorded, blood pressures were screened, and community leaders were trained to perform sphygmomanometry. An increase in hypertension-related knowledge was observed after every workshop and community health leaders demonstrated proficiency in sphygmomanometry. In addition, several at-risk patients were identified and follow-up care arranged. Men’s educational group appointments, shown to be effective in the United States in increasing patient knowledge and satisfaction, appear to function similarly in a resource-constrained environment and may be an effective mechanism for reaching underserved men in Nicaragua.

Conducting a health education needs assessment in rural Nicaragua

“…However, it is well documented that men have a lower life expectancy than women and that their health outcomes are substantially worse (Baker et al, 2014). In addition, preventive health and wellness programmes for men are not common in rural Nicaragua because a machismo culture prevents men from seeking health care (Campbell et al, 2017). For these reasons, we did not want to miss the opportunity to identify the health education needs of men living in Los Robles so that health presentations specific to their needs can be developed.…”

Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Dalam Meningkatkan Pengetahuan, Sikap, Dan Praktik Wanita Usia Subur Tentang Gangguan Akibat Kekurangan Iodium

“…[27][28][29] Kegiatan edukasi mengenai hipertensi dilakukan di pedesaan di El Hormiguero, Nikaragua. 30 Edukasi tersebut bertujuan untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan (penyebab dan dampak hipertensi), kesadaran mengenai hipertensi, dan melatih pemimpin lokal cara mengukur tekanan darah sebagai upaya preventif kesehatan laki-laki di Nikaragua yang memiliki budaya anti terhadap pencarian pengobatan karena laki-laki dipersepsikan kuat (jantan). Pendidikan kesehatan yang dilakukan di Nikaragua diupayakan menyesuaikan dengan karakteristik masyarakat yang ada/ bersifat kontekstual dan terbukti meningkatkan pengetahuan terkait hipertensi, kemampuan pengukuran tekanan darah, dan partisipasi lakilaki dalam pemeriksaan tekanan darah.…”