Women's health education in rural Bangladesh

Each year in Bangladesh scores of women and children suffer and die from diseases that are largely preventable or curable. In an effort to address this problem, CARE-Bangladesh established its Women's Health Education (WHE) program. The WHE program, which targets poor women in rural areas, was designed to teach women how to prevent and treat health problems which routinely afflict them and their families. The health education sessions emphasize preventative measures and cover topics concerning health and hygiene of women and children. Surveys are conducted immediately following course completion and again six months later to assess the short and long-term impact of the program. Surveys conducted at the end of the 12 week course period indicate that, on average, participants retain 97% of the material covered. Measurement of knowledge retention 6 months after course completion revealed only a 5% decline from the post-course survey results. These findings illustrate the program's success in increasing knowledge and awareness of health interventions. Since imparting knowledge is a first step toward changing behavior, WHE's success in this regard suggests a significant role for health education in preventing and treating common health hazards, and thus in improving the health status of women and children in developing countries.