Hesperian Health Guides
To the Health Worker
HealthWiki > Where Women Have No Doctor > Chapter 2: Solving Health Problems > To the Health Worker: Solving Health Problems
Helping people help themselves
In this chapter, Don Pedro and Valeria played important roles in helping the women in Juanita’s community solve a health problem. The reason that Don Pedro and Valeria were so effective was that they did not tell Juanita and her friends what to do. Rather, Don Pedro and Valeria helped the women learn how to help themselves.
You, too, can help women and others in your community by following Don Pedro’s and Valeria’s example. You can:
- Share your knowledge. To help themselves, people need information. Many health problems can be prevented if people know how. But remember that you do not have to have all of the answers to help people. Many times there are no easy answers. It is fine to admit when you do not know something. The people you work with will be glad for your honesty.
I’m not sure about that, but I can find out.
Share your knowledge with other women, other health workers, and with the people who make decisions in the community.
- Treat people with respect. Each person should be treated as someone who is capable of understanding their health problems and of making good decisions about their treatment. Never blame someone for their problem or for past decisions they have made.
What we have discussed is private. I will not tell anyone else.
- Keep health problems private. Health problems should not be discussed where others can hear. Never tell anyone else about a problem someone has unless the person with the problem says it is OK.
- Remember that listening is more important than giving advice. To solve a problem, many people need someone who will listen to them without judgment. By listening, you let them know you care and that their experience is important. As they talk, they may find that they already know some ways to solve the problem.
- Solve problems with others, not for them. Even when someone’s problems are very large and cannot be solved completely, they usually have some choices they can make. As a health worker, you can help people realize they have choices, and help them find the information they need to make their own decisions.
You learn from those you help, and those you help learn from you.
- Learn from the people you help. Learning how others experience and solve their own problems can help you to help others better (and sometimes yourself, too).
- Respect your people’s traditions and ideas. Modern science does not have all the answers. And many modern medicines come from studying plant medicines and traditional ways of healing. So it is important to respect and use what is good in both methods—and to remember that each method can cause harm if used in the wrong way.
- Find out what people really want to learn about. It is easy to get into the habit of giving information without finding out if it will be helpful. This often happens when health workers give prepared talks. But if you find out what people want to know, the information you give will be more useful to them. People also remember information better when it builds on their own knowledge.
Iron is found in hemoglobin, myoglobin, and different enzymes. Women need 18 mg. daily to fill the needs created by menstruation, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.
They don’t care about good nutrition.
What is she talking about? This is such a waste of time!
Why do so many women bleed to death during birth? One reason is anemia. Many women do not eat enough foods rich in iron, like meat.
But meat costs so much. What other ways can we get enough iron?
- Plan with people, not for people. When you plan your work, be sure to talk first with the people in your community. Find out how they view the problem you are working to solve. Talk together about what they think causes the problem and their ideas for solving it. Working together brings the best results!
This page was updated:13 Nov 2023