Guide for Community Assessments on Women's Health Care - ICRW

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Be clear with the translator about her/his role. Emphasize that the translator should translate
(and back-translate) what is being said word <strong>for</strong> word. She/he must not paraphrase, embellish
or translate only those parts that support personal moral preferences and sensibilities. Stress
that no one from the facilitation team, including the translators, is there to pass judgment on
the workshop participants.
Handle Technical Questions and Referral
Your workshops will spark lots of questions from community members. The workshop process
allows time to respond to these questions.
Keep a record of the questions asked at each workshop. These questions can be answered during the
Day 5 workshop that brings together all groups. Invite a local medical or health expert to join you <strong>for</strong>
this session, and give the expert these questions in advance so she/he can come well prepared.
This guide also includes fact sheets on some of the major HIV, AIDS and reproductive health-related
diseases in Annex A. Translate these into the local language and give them to participants at the end
of each workshop, along with a list of local health services.
You also might have individuals approaching you <strong>for</strong> advice on personal problems (e.g., a woman
who has been beaten or sexually abused). Be prepared with in<strong>for</strong>mation, including referral to
counselors or other professionals in the community, to assist participants.
Review Daily
Convene a team meeting at the end of each day to review the day’s activities and plan <strong>for</strong> the
following day. Start off with a quick go-around to get each person’s views about the day. Then, go
through each of the activities and ask <strong>for</strong> comments. Encourage everyone to give an honest appraisal
of the team’s per<strong>for</strong>mance.
Discuss some of the following issues:
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Which exercises worked and why? What didn’t work and why?
How was the level of participation <strong>for</strong> each exercise?
Which questions were effective and which fell flat?
How could some questions be phrased differently?
How did the local context influence the in<strong>for</strong>mation and analysis?
Which issues were deliberately avoided or hidden?
How was the pace and the time allocated to each activity?
Once you have finished, go through the plans <strong>for</strong> the following day, adding what you have learned
from the review.
70 Chapter D: Tips <strong>for</strong> Running Participatory Workshops