Our research has two goals: better understanding how female empowerment and gender norms are understood and conceptualized in this local community, and exploring associations between aspects of female empowerment and autonomy with caregiving practices, especially in terms of responsiveness towards young children (ages 0 to 3 years old).
It is impossible to talk about maternal and child health in Pakistan without mentioning the Lady Health Workers programme. Established in 1994, its goal is to provide access to primary health care services at the household and community levels, equiping female health workers to provide essential maternal and child health care within catchment areas comprising approximately 1000 citizens. The programme is fundamental towards suporting population health status throughtout the country, and especially so in rural areas such as Naushahro Feroze.
Our research is partnering up with local Lady Health Workers towards succesfully recruiting and enrolling eligible participants in the district. Inclusion and exclusion criteria will be preemptively assessed from the list of citizens attended by them, resulting in the list of eligible adult female caregivers who will be invited to participate in the research.
*A typical data collection visit carried by the DREAM ngo in local households. Parental consent to post children's images in this blog have been received.