Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116477

Mary Nell Wegner, EdM, MPH, Joseph Ruminjo, MD, OB/GYN, Erika Sinclair, Lauren Pesso, and Shipra Srihari, PhD, MPH. Maternity Care Program, EngenderHealth, 440 Ninth Avenue, 13th Floor, New York, NY 10001, 212-561-8000, jruminjo@engenderhealth.org

Women who endure obstetric fistula are often a vulnerable population with particular needs that cannot be met by surgical repair alone. Often banished from their communities and rejected by their partners, many lack information on how to keep themselves healthy, including education and counseling on family planning, prevention of sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), and the need to postpone and seek proper care (including c-section) for a subsequent pregnancy. Years of shame and isolation may have eroded these women's self-esteem and sense of self-worth. They may also require vocational training to generate income to support themselves.

These issues can all be addressed through targeted counseling and education, but many providers need to develop new skills to address the unique emotional, social, and health-related issues affecting women with fistula. Standards for high quality, comprehensive and appropriate counseling for women with fistula are lacking.

Drawing on established best practices and lessons learned in working with fistula clients, EngenderHealth developed a counseling curriculum tailored to the comprehensive counseling and information needs of women living with fistula, focusing on their pre- and post-operative needs, and addressing techniques to help women avoid future pregnancy complications. To ensure evidence-based content, EngenderHealth conducted an extensive literature review, and convened a meeting of fistula counseling experts (including counselors, health educators, social workers, doctors and nurses) to share best practices and identify key components of the curriculum. The first of its kind, the curriculum is intended to be adapted to the individual needs of fistula clients in various settings.

Learning Objectives:

Participants attending this session will be able to
• identify key emotional, social, and health-related issues to address in counseling women with obstetric fistula;
• describe the process of developing counseling training materials based on established best practices in a variety of settings.

Keywords: Counseling, Curricula

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.