Community Health Agents Advancing Women's Empowerment: A Qualitative Data Analysis

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Community Health
• Women's Empowerment

Background:

• Community health agents (CHAs) are vital for primary healthcare in low-resource settings.
• Evidence supports CHA benefits for community health outcomes.
• Limited research exists on CHA empowerment and its impact on the agents themselves.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how working as a CHA impacts the lives and self-perceptions of women in Peru.
• To explore themes of empowerment, life changes, and self-perception among CHAs.
• To assess the effectiveness of the Catholic Medical Mission Board's (CMMB) CHA model in fostering empowerment.

Main Methods:

• Six focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted.
• 53 CHAs implementing CMMB programming in Trujillo and Huancayo, Peru, participated.
• FGDs explored themes of empowerment, life changes, and self-perception.

Main Results:

• Four major themes of women's empowerment were identified: achievements, agency, meaningfulness, and resources.
• Achievements included changes in family behavior, self-worth, education, health, and rights.
• Agency involved increased voice, confidence, decision-making, and participation.

Conclusions:

• The CMMB CHA model effectively facilitates women's empowerment.
• Meaningful community leadership opportunities enhance women's self-perception as capable leaders.
• Empowering women as CHAs can improve community health and catalyze gender equality.