Integral to the process of participatory research is the process of data sharing and data validation. The data that is collected from the community is discussed with them by cutting the jargon and making it more comprehensible and easier to understand. Only after their approval through active participation is the data further disseminated through other sources. The workshops seek to actively involve the target population, adolescents, their care-givers (parents or guardians), community and the wider body of stakeholders with their stakes in adolescent health like medical officers, school faculty, frontline health workers and municipal and ward councilor. Two such sessions were conducted with the community in Ghata and Sikanderpur on March 16 and March 19, respectively.
In Ghata, one of the informal settlements, the second data sharing workshop was conducted with adolescent boys and girls and parents/female guardian. The workshop was conducted in the presence of local Government school principal, Mrs. Sunil and the frontline health workers. During the workshop, the participants first explored the prevailing situation of adolescent health in the community. A PowerPoint presentation of the emerging results from the survey was presented to the participants. In order to better communicate the findings, the findings were presented in the form of pie charts and bar graphs. Adolescents, who were interviewed by the research team were encouraged to come forward and interpret the findings based on their understanding of the phenomenon. Post the sharing, Focus Group Discussions(FGD) were conducted with the women on important issues that emerged during the course of the survey. The discussions would serve to assist the researchers in in-depth enquiry as part of the qualitative component of the study.
Some of the important discussions around adolescent health discussed during the discussions include menstrual practices adopted by young women, nutrition, abuse and domestic violence. The discussions lasted 60 minutes and was conducted in groups of three of ten members each (two parent groups of 10(n=20) and one adolescent group of ten female participants(n=10). Three facilitators conducted the process to ensure that the discussion is structured.
After the discussions, the frontline health workers and Government school principal interacted with the students and parents. Behavioral Communication and Change (BCC) Material was also distributed among the participants. It was printed in Hindi and Bangla, so as to comply with the dominant language spoken by the residents of the housing settlement.
The third data sharing session, as part of OHOV study, was conducted in Sikanderpur. The event was attended by the Municipal Councilor, Frontline Health Workers, influencers within the community and the principal of the local Government school. Data sharing session mostly focused on the issue of safety, since it was a recurring theme during informal discussions with the community. Majority of the population in Sikanderpur settlement are informal migrant workers, where the women work as domestic workers and the men are employed as drivers, care-takers and watchmen in corporate establishments and households. The aspect of care-giving was touched upon during the discussions that followed data sharing. Since the parents are employed in informal sector and their working hours are not fixed, issues and concerns of safety of their adolescent children ranked among the top priority areas of work required to improve adolescent health. The data from Sikanderpur also indicted a high level of drop out among girls, which has a direct co-relation with safety. Unchecked violence and the rising menace of drug abuse has manifested in the form of horrifying incidents, like rapes and murder reported from the vicinity. Due to this, the parents are reluctant to send their girl children to school, especially beyond class 8. Financial uncertainty of their professions also contributes to poor school enrolment.
Focus Group discussions were conducted and BCC material was distributed among the participants. The Frontline health workers (ASHA/ANM) disseminated information about important Government schemes for the welfare of adolescents and the important access points. The ward councilor extended all necessary co-operation to the team and appealed to the research team to conduct more such events to spread awareness on aspects related to adolescent health. The event was attended by 50 participants from the community.
Discussions conducted in groups, thereafter, captured the care-giver perspective of adolescent health. The information would be useful in supplementing the data that was collected through the survey and to co-develop a joint plan of action with adolescents to improve health outcomes and access to health systems in the community.