Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 13
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions. Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check your answers with the Notes on the Self-Assessment Questions at the end of this Module.
SAQ 13.1 (tests Learning Outcomes 13.1 and 13.2)
Below are some extracts from a report of a community survey, but they are placed in the wrong order. Read each extract (labelled A to I). Then list the correct order in which each extract should appear in the report and state the title of that section of the report. For example, F = the cover page, which should come first.
| A | Proper usage of latrines, handwashing, personal hygiene and sanitation are crucial features of hygienic practice. All the visited households in the survey were observed to have poor management of domestic hygiene. |
| B | Our thanks also go to the water and health sectors at all levels who took part in the survey process. |
| C | Development of a joint plan between the water and health sectors for the control and prevention of outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases is recommended. |
| D | This survey was conducted because there were frequent outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases in the kebele in all seasons of the year, and this was a concern to the community members, the woreda health officials and the Regional Health Bureau. |
| E | The low awareness of the community, low access to safe water supplies and the poor utilisation of latrines contributed to diarrhoeal diseases outbreaks. |
| F | Community Survey Report on Diarrhoeal Disease Outbreak in Kebele X in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia, by Abebe Belaw, January 2009. |
| G | To assess the knowledge, beliefs and practices of the community on the control and prevention of diarrhoeal diseases. |
| H | Some respondents reported the following belief on the cause and mode of transmission of diarrhoeal diseases: ‘Diarrhoeal diseases are transmitted by bad smells’. |
| I | All the adults in the selected households were interviewed using a questionnaire to identify their knowledge, perceptions and practices about diarrhoeal diseases and their transmission and prevention. |
Answer
The correct order and the appropriate section for each of the extracts from the report are as follows:
F = Cover page
D = Introduction
G = Objective
I = Survey methods
H = Results
A = Discussion
E = Conclusion
C = Recommendation
B = Acknowledgements
SAQ 13.2 (tests Learning Outcomes 13.1 and 13.3)
What criteria would prevent you from conducting a research project, based on the rating scales in Tables 13.1 and 13.2?
Answer
You should not conduct the research if there are major ethical problems, there is no chance of implementing the recommendations, there are no available resources for the project, it is not politically acceptable to the stakeholders, sufficient information is already available from other research studies, or the research is not relevant to addressing a priority health problem.
SAQ 13.3 (tests Learning Outcomes 13.1 and 13.4)
Read the following general objective for a small-scale research project.
‘The general objective of this research is to identify the reasons for malnutrition among children aged under one year in the community.’
Write at least three specific objectives that would be relevant to achieving this general objective.
Answer
We can’t tell exactly what specific objectives you may have written, but here are some suggestions (you may have thought of others that are equally relevant):
- To interview mothers of underweight infants about what foods they give to their child, including how long they breastfed if the child is already weaned.
- To distribute a questionnaire to parents asking them to tick all the foods they consider are good for children aged under one year, and any foods that they think are bad for children.
- To organise a focus group for fathers of underweight infants to discuss whether there are difficulties in obtaining enough food to feed their children, and the reasons for any food shortages.
- To assess whether health problems such as diarrhoeal diseases and/or intestinal worms are contributing to malnutrition among young children.
Summary of Study Session 13