Healthy Women Healthy Liberia

Together we can do it

Community Health Care Workers (Aug & Sep Reports)

WATERFIELD PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTER’S COMMUNITY HEALTH CARE WORKERS REPORTS, Kakata City, Margibi County-Liberia.

REPORT FOR AUGUST 2019 Group (1) by: Kerbeth and Alice – Community Health Care Workers (in their own words)

Topics discussed by the Community Health Care Workers were Personal Hygiene, sanitation and Malaria.

When we met our people in the month of August in those various communities, during our discussions, they were told that personal hygiene and sanitation is very important in our daily lives.

We also encouraged them to continue:

  • cleaning their homes and surroundings
  • washing their hands with soap and clean water

Malaria: They were told that Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes. We told them that malaria signs and symptoms begin within a few weeks after being bitten by an infected mosquito. However, some types of malaria parasites can lie dormant in your body for months, or even years.

The signs and symptoms are:

  • headache
  • diarrhea
  • vomiting
  • chills
  • fever
  • sweating at night

And  our take home massages to them were:

  • Spraying your homes
  • Sleeping under a bed net or mosquito net
  • Covering your skin during active mosquito time
  • Cleaning our homes and surrounding
  • They should go to clinic or hospital for proper treatment whenever they feel those signs and symptoms.  

Cassese Notice:

We met a lady named M.D. She was involved in a motor accident and her right leg got broken. This accident happened last year. Since that time up to present, people are still using country herbs on the leg, but she has not been able to walk on the leg that was broken.

Y.K., a ten (10yrs) old girl, got burned by hot water and was taking to Dr. Chris’ place for treatment and the wound was getting better.

We saw four (4) of our clients who had swollen legs with wounds on them. They all said, they woke up one day and saw their legs swelling up, but they could not figure out the causes of the swelling legs. So two were able to go to a nearby clinic for treatment and because of the treatment, their legs were no longer the way it were.

While the two others decided to use herbs on their legs, but the herbs were not giving them any help. So we told them that they could not know the causes of their problems until they come to the clinic for proper checkup and treatment.

We also met a boy by the name J. P. who had rashes on his body. The grandmother often used other things on his body like sulfur, deltol but to no availed. The rashes usually come and go when the sulfur is used and after few days the rashes reappear. We also encouraged his grandmother to take him to the clinic for proper treatment.

We served (54) pregnant women with our prenatal vitamins. Six of our pregnant women have given birth and one went under operation. Two of our pregnant women had still births.

We took blood  pressure of :

Male 78
Female 240
Total 318

The Community Health Care Workers also served (34) men, (72) women, and (128) children with the worm tablets. So we had the total number of (234) persons that were served.

Many of our clients within our communities extended their thanks and appreciation to the Waterfield family for their job well done and gift that was offered doing the dental outreach.

Total number of clients who participated during our exercise within the communities for the month of August:

Numbers of  Females 620  
Numbers of Males 312  
Numbers of Children 882  
Numbers of Pregnant women 62  
Numbers of Babies and mothers 48  
TOTAL  NUMBERS 1924

COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE WORKERS’ ACTIVITIES – SEPTEMBER 2019 (in their own words):

During my visit with the Community Health Care Workers in the various communities in the month of September 2019, we carried out out monthly routines of health activities listed below:

  • Location of our WPHCC facility and services that are offered along with our registration fee breakdown among the clients.
  • Monitoring of blood pressure monthly
  • High blood pressure(Hypertension) presentation
  • Assessments of cases among the dwellers from different communities
  • Cycle Beans
  • Advice on Medical problems among the dwellers and encouraging them to go the health facilities
  • Distribution of Prenatal vitamin and it educations
  • Examinations of kids

Whenever the community health care team arrives in their various communities, we gather the dwellers of that particular community together and educate them specifically on their monthly activities that have been listed previously.

Specifically, during the month of September 2019, the health care team was able to elaborate on High blood pressure (Hypertension), even though there were other health issues discussed.

In their discussion on High blood pressure (hypertension): This is what was said to the dwellers in the various communities. They taught them that this sickness is a condition in which the force of our blood against the vein is too high and because of it been high, it can cause health problems bit by bit like heart disease.

Our blood pressure can also be made known by the amount of blood our heart support to pumps and the ways in which the blood should flow in our vein. In the process of our heart pumping the blood, the more blood pumps by our heart and the smaller the veins with become and the more problems we face.

We can have high blood pressure for many years without symptoms. But likely, blood pressure can be detected easily by taking your pressure and if you have been diagnosed as a patient, you can control it.

Whenever you observed these signs and symptoms as an individual in the community like; dull headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness, you should go to the health faculties for medical examinations.

Furthermore, this high blood pressure also has other things that we ourselves cannot control as an individual including: Age, Race and Family history.

There are other advantages’ and disadvantages of high blood pressure.

Advantages Disadvantages
Being physically active Not being physically active
1. Pinch of salt in your diet 1. Too much salt in your diet
2. Not being stressful 2. Stress
3. Not being an alcoholic 3. Being alcoholic

 This high blood pressure can be controlled by applying the following lifestyle and home remedies such as:

  • Eat health foods
  • Avoiding stress, and anger
  • Getting enough of rest
  • Avoiding smoking and alcohol in take
  • Reducing the intake of salt in your diets
  • Having regular exercise
  • Avoiding fatty and oily foods
  • Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables
  • Make sure you are not over weight
  • Monitoring your blood pressure regularly
  • Taking of your medications regularly without breaking through to avoid complications.

The Community Health Care Workers educated the pregnant women about the importance of their prenatal and postnatal care. Because it will help them to accumulate the following benefits for they and their child/children.

  1.  It prevents all children from childhood diseases with full immunization when they born.
  2. Provide healthy eye sight and makes them stronger.
  3. It keeps all prenatal women from be anemic and irregular position of their babies
  4. It also makes them healthy and provides full minerals and nutrients for all pregnant women.
  5. It prevents them of not having any disability and deformity in the developing process of their pregnancy with the help of these prenatal vitamins.
  6. We strongly stressed about the important of them visiting the health facilities every month to do a routine check-up so that they can be aware of any unusual health conditions that may lead them to other pregnancy complications.
  7. The importance of sleeping under the treated mosquito nets at all time at night and more especially, pregnant women and children under 5years to prevent them of not having malaria.
  8. Taking of their medications on a daily basic.
  9. It prevents them of not having miss-carriage, low birth weight, early delivery than the appropriate time.
  10. Take their six (6) malaria tablets (Fansider) for 1st and 2nd trimester.
  • We also discouraged the ideas of them giving birth in the community, because these midwives do not have the following medical supplies like, blood, water and tetracycline to be applied in the process of other complication in delivery.
  • And in fact, some of those materials are not sterilized properly and because of this, it may lead them to other infectious diseases to them and their babies.

 In the month of September 2019, these were a total number of (2,664) persons in attendance that actively participated in our health discussions with the Community Health Care Workers.

WPHCC also received six (6) students from the Good Samaritan of Health Assistant School for internship for six weeks.

 We also went at the site of Project 44 for clearing up.  And then, on Saturday the entire group went there for the bushing.

On Friday September 20th 2019, we received our community supplies that were sent from abroad and these supplies includes; T-shirts, umbrellas, rain boots and poncho as well.

We also notice that half of our community’s dweller both men, women and children are coming down with Apollo (scabies).

Male Female Children * Mothers Pregnant women Grand totals
267 938 506 56 179 1,946

The next chart below indicates the numbers of (718) persons who blood pressure were taken in the month of September 2019. (*Babies’ Mothers)

Male Female Grand Total
172 546 718

Through our community outreach, we were able to come in contact with (46) pregnant women who received our monthly prenatal vitamin supplies that have given birth in our various communities.

During our assessments, we also came across unfortunate situations among our pregnant women that is shown in this final chart below:

Still birth Cases Miss Carriage Cases Abortion Cases Neonatal Death
0 1 0 0

Community Health Care Workers’ assessments and observations in the month of September 2019, we came in contact with these cases among the dwellers from various communities.

  • JM has sore on she left hand. And according to her it started ten months ago. And it started with rashes but unfortunately, she never seek any medical help at that movement. She went to herbal to seek treatment but, there is no improvement. 
  • ET a 79 year old man has a Nat in his throat. And he said, it started with rising and now it has getting bigger from the 15th of May 2019 to this day.
  • BK 45 year old lady has a sore on her breast nipple. She also told us that it is very painful.  This started right after her delivery. We encouraged her to come at the clinic for treatment.
  •  Two (2) month old baby Prince M whom his grandmother said that he has opened more. But during our examination, we notice that the mother was not eating the proper diet neither taking the rightful medications. And because of that, the child is very small in his structure.
  • One of our pregnant girls AL. Her blood pressure was very low at this level 90\50mmHg. And she was also anemic. We quickly advice her to come at the clinic for checkup because of her condition.
  • Ma BK a 56 year old lady complained of sickle cell. According to her explanations, her father was diagnosed it. And when she was growing up, she became to experience the signs and symptoms of this disease. Immediately she was taking to the Firestone Hospital and she was diagnosed of sickle cell. At that movement, they immediately started her treatment with folic acid, paracetomol, choloquine along with other vitamins supplement. Because of her early diagnostic, she was able to give to four living children. She has been on this from her smaller up to present. So we told her to come at the clinic for treatment because she no longer lives in Firestone.   
  • BK a 50 year old lady who said that she was working at Sinoe County, but one day she went to work and while sitting in her chair, she felt pain in her leg. From that day on up to present she can’t walk.
  •  Nineteen (19) old boy JS complained of pain from his waist to his leg. He can hardly move due to this problem. 
  • EJ is 33 years old. She came from Bong County with her jaw swallow. And she also complained of chest burned.
  • LK is 40 years of age. She said, they diagnosed her of kidney failure at the ELWA Hospital in Monrovia.
  • FK was diagnosed as hypertension patient at CH Rennie Hospital. She was given take-home medications. And after her medicines finish, there was no money to get back to the hospital. Until one day she fell up with stroke.  And so she now crawls on her knees.
  • ML is walking with stick. He said, he went to the clinic and they diagnosed him as a high blood pressure patient. He received some medications from the clinic. After few times, his medications were finish and he said; there is no money to get back to the clinic for treatment.
  • Prince W’s mother pass off. He now staying with his aunty in Madina community.
  • MK is 8 years of age. She have problem with her right foot and hand. She is not able to walk by herself.
  • AC has wound on his two foots. This problem leads him to his disability of walking. He now craw on his hand and knee.
  • MJ was 9 years old when his father passed off in February 2019. He is staying with his mother who is physically challenged too.
  • We also have some unfortunate situations like those who rejected the medications were nineteen (19) persons.
  •  Relocation of our pregnant women was forty-four (44) persons.
  • Ma FK  (58yrs) old woman from Walker Farm community. She said that while going to her daughter’s house, something bites her right foot, she didn’t know what it was because she never saw it. The next morning her leg got swollen up and she was taken to City Clinic for treatment. After a couple of days, she notices that the treatment given her at the clinic was not helping. And then she was taking to the Chinese clinic for further diagnoses. They told her children that it was a cold that entered her vein and therefore she was given an injection.  Unfortunately, her condition has become worst on her two legs after taking the injection.
  • Ten years old girl DK was hit in the eye by her friend on campus. After she went home, she became to experience tears and mucus from the eye. Her mother took her to the new eye clinic in Monrovia for examination. After the examinations, she was treated and given some level of advice not to look at a direction for longer time. When she went back  to school, she and her friends decided to do jumping rope during             lunch time and in the process of playing, the rope hat her  eye again. Since then, her condition has become the same up to now.   The end.