Community health needs assessment for a child health promotion program in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

Despite over 10 years of support from government health programs and health organizations, children in migrant villages in Kyrgyzstan remain a public concern owing to high incidence rates of preventable diseases such as anemia. An effective community health promotion program is needed but there is a lack of knowledge of community barriers and health factors affecting children's health in these migrant villages. The purpose of this study was to conduct a community health needs assessment to develop strategies for a child health promotion program in these migrant villages. This study conducted using a mixed method that included literature review, reginal statistics, focus group and key person interviews, and a community survey. The analysis method was descriptive statistics for the questionnaires, and content analysis for the interviews. Results showed the following priorities for child health promotion: strengthening health care provider capacity, overcoming resource shortages, managing child health and preventable diseases, improving public hygiene, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and empowering school health. The strategies were identified: capacity building of health workers, increasing community participation and raising child health awareness, and supporting child health promotion services. These findings will help guide the implementation of a child health promotion program.

Keywords: Child health; Community participation; Health promotion; Needs assessment.