Training of Roma Health Mediators in Reproductive Health

The person who was listening:
• Paid more attention to the other person's non-verbal communication than to the
verbal
• Gave the impression of listening while in reality he was thinking of something else
• Reacted to certain words
‣ What are the consequences of this kind of communication in reproductive health?
• Very little information is retained by women
• Information which is poorly communicated and poorly understood by women is a
fertile source of rumors
Review with the group:
• Principles to help women to remember important information that we have
communicated to them about reproductive health:
o Limit ourselves to key information according to the woman’s needs
o Repeat key information several times during the discussion
o Limit the details to the essential
o Begin with important information and repeat it at the end of the discussion for
emphasis
o When possible, link information to something the woman knows already
o Encourage the woman to ask questions if any part of the message is unclear to
her
o Ask the woman to repeat the message to verify what she understood and retained
• How to best respond when faced with rumors raised by women:
o In certain situations, it may be appropriate to present directly the truth regarding
the particular issue (for example, when the woman seems fairly sure that the
issue she has raised is a rumor).
o In most situations, however, it is important to find out what may be behind the
rumor (for example, misinformation, a negative experience, poorly understood
explanations, values, beliefs etc). When a person raises a rumor, listen carefully
and try to discern the source of the rumor. This will enable you to be more
certain that your response will be valid and respond to the concerns of the
woman.
XI. INITIATING DISCUSSIONS OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES (40
minutes)
Refer to earlier parts of this session in which we discussed 1) obstacles to interpersonal
communication, and 2) certain techniques to avoid these obstacles and to be more helpful to
women in discussions of reproductive health. Suggest that there are two ways/situations in
which a mediator may engage in a discussion of reproductive health with a woman:
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RFHI/JSI Romania Training of RHMs in Reproductive Health Session 14: Interpersonal Communication