Mapping knowledge management resources of maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) among people living in rural and urban settings of Ilorin, Nigeria

Mitigating Gender and Maternal and Child Health Injustices through Faith Community-Led Initiatives

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

Congregational Health Empowerment and Social Safety Advocates (CHESS-Advocates) initiative, a project aimed at mitigating maternal and child health (MCH) and gender injustices in religiously pluralistic societies, was implemented in two Northern Nigerian states of Benue and Kaduna between September 2018 and July 2019. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness, sustainability and factors of success in the CHESS-Advocates model as a faith community approach to mitigating gender and MCH injustices in Northern Nigeria.

METHODS

Data were from desk review of monthly project reports which were documented monthly all through the 10-month project life, and qualitative assessment conducted in July 2019 at the end of project. The assessments involved focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and in-depth interviews conducted in four randomly selected communities in each of the project states. The variables of interest were sustainability, effectiveness of initiative, and the factors that contributed to the success of the program.

RESULTS

The CHESS-Advocate model was effective in the mobilization of community response that improved uptake and acceptance of antenatal care (ANC), immunization, and uptake of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing services. The model was cost-effective and able to instigate change in harmful practices, particularly in highly religious communities. The model showed promise of sustainability and identified some factors that led to its success in the different communities.

CONCLUSION AND GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS

The CHESS advocates model showed promises of efficacy in engaging faith communities as important actors in promoting MCH practices and mitigating gender injustices particularly in rural and underserved communities. Like other faith based models, the CHESS-Advocates model provided opportunities in faith congregations for building sustainable development in health and social justice. The model helped to improve MCH seeking behavior, influenced change in harmful gender norms and in community response against gender based violence in rural communities.

Auditing Knowledge toward Leveraging Organizational IQ in Healthcare Organizations

Objectives

In this study, a knowledge audit was conducted based on organizational intelligence quotient (OIQ) principles of Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MOHME) to determine levers that can enhance OIQ in healthcare.

Methods

The mixed method study was conducted within the MOHME. The study population consisted of 15 senior managers and policymakers. A tool based on literature review and panel expert opinions was developed to perform a knowledge audit.

Results

The significant results of this auditing revealed the following: lack of defined standard processes for organizing knowledge management (KM), lack of a knowledge map, absence of a trustee to implement KM, absence of specialists to produce a knowledge map, individuals' unwillingness to share knowledge, implicitness of knowledge format, occasional nature of knowledge documentation for repeated use, lack of a mechanism to determine repetitive tasks, lack of a reward system for the formation of communities, groups and networks, non-updatedness of the available knowledge, and absence of commercial knowledge.

Conclusions

The analysis of the audit findings revealed that three levers for enhancing OIQ, including structure and process, organizational culture, and information technology must be created or modified.