Bwirire, D.; Crutzen, R.; Letschert, R.; Namegabe, E.N.; de Vries, N. Basic Health Service Delivery to Vulnerable Populations in Post-Conflict Eastern Congo: Asset Mapping. Healthcare2023, 11, 2778.
Bwirire, D.; Crutzen, R.; Letschert, R.; Namegabe, E.N.; de Vries, N. Basic Health Service Delivery to Vulnerable Populations in Post-Conflict Eastern Congo: Asset Mapping. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2778.
Bwirire, D.; Crutzen, R.; Letschert, R.; Namegabe, E.N.; de Vries, N. Basic Health Service Delivery to Vulnerable Populations in Post-Conflict Eastern Congo: Asset Mapping. Healthcare2023, 11, 2778.
Bwirire, D.; Crutzen, R.; Letschert, R.; Namegabe, E.N.; de Vries, N. Basic Health Service Delivery to Vulnerable Populations in Post-Conflict Eastern Congo: Asset Mapping. Healthcare 2023, 11, 2778.
Abstract
Populations with healthcare needs often reside in post-conflict settings where basic services needed to maintain good health may be non-existent or hard to access. Therefore, there is a need for better identification and reallocation of resources as part of the post-conflict health rehabilitation effort. This study applies an asset-based approach to explore the more optimal design of health services and to identify the resource constraints for basic health service delivery to the most vulnerable communities in eastern Congo. We implemented the asset mapping in two phases. Firstly, we combined a qualitative survey with community walks to identify the assets already present in the communities. Secondly, we conducted group discussions to map out assets that are the core of Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) practice. We finally documented all assets in a Community Asset Spreadsheet. Overall, 209 assets were identified as available and potentially valuable resources for the communities in eastern Congo. Among them, 60 were local associations, 24 were land and physical environment, 43 were local institutions, 46 were individuals, 32 to economy and exchange, and only 6 were related to culture, history, and stories. Drawing upon the findings from the qualitative survey, community walks, and group discussions, we conclude that an important number of resources were in place for basic health service delivery. By activating the existing and potential resources, the most vulnerable populations in eastern Congo might have the required resources for basic health service delivery. Our findings support the use of an asset-mapping research method as appropriate to identify existing and potential resources for basic health services in a post-conflict setting.
Keywords
community participatory asset mapping; asset-based approaches to health; health inequalities; basic healthcare services; community-based healthcare; democratic republic of congo
Subject
Public Health and Healthcare, Health Policy and Services
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
