Training of Roma Health Mediators in Reproductive Health

o Ask about the children; acknowledge any problems expressed by the woman
o Ask if the woman hopes/plans to have other children
• If the response is yes, ask open questions about the concerns/problems she
expressed earlier in order to help her reflect on the reality of her situation
• If the response is no, ask open questions about what she would like to do to
prevent future pregnancies, what she knows about family planning etc
Emphasize the importance of providing the woman relevant and clear information
throughout the discussion, as appropriate to her responses to the questions asked.
XII.
INTEGRATION OF ACTIVE LISTENING COMPONENTS (2 hours)
[Notes to trainers: You will need to have six role plays (three for Series 1 and three for
Series 2), enabling all participants to play the role of mediator once in each series.
• Series 1 role plays focus on initiating discussions of reproductive health with a
woman. Note that there will be three of these role plays so that each participant will
have the opportunity to play the part of mediator, woman in the community and
observer
• Series 2 should be based on difficult cases that women in the community may raise
with mediators. Note that there will be three of these role plays so that each
participant will have the opportunity to play the part of mediator, community woman
and observer.
Role play cases should include the following information:
• Woman’s age
• Number of pregnancies
• Number of abortions (if applicable to the situation)
• Number of children
• Details about the particular reproductive health situation
o Woman’s situation with respect to the particular reproductive health issue
(example: Pregnant, eating poorly, does heavy physical labor on the farm, has
not gone for prenatal visits because she does not want to be examined)
o Woman’s feelings about her situation (for example about her pregnancy)
o Woman’s knowledge of reproductive principles that apply to her situation
o Woman’s reproductive health practices relative to her situation]
Invite participants to practice integrating their skills of:
• initiation of discussions of reproductive health
• active listening (passive listening, paraphrasing and asking open questions)
• sharing reproductive health information with women
Post the flip chart and distribute the participant document Role Play Discussion Questions.
Review the questions with the group. Explain that these questions will be useful to them in
observing the role plays and in sharing feedback at the end of the role plays.
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RFHI/JSI Romania Training of RHMs in Reproductive Health Session 14: Interpersonal Communication