The Social Impact of Kintampo Vitamin A Epi-Plus Project

Abstract

Researches in communities are usually concentrated on the objectives of projects and may not address the felt-needs of the people involved. A project which administered Vitamin A Supplementation to children at the time they received their immunizations was carried out in the Kintampo District of Ghana. It was known as the Kintampo Vitamin A EPI -Plus Project (KTVAP EPI-PLUS). For the success of the project, the communities were educated on the importance of Vitamin A through meetings, durbars and follow-up visits. These frequent interactions by the KIVAP EPI-PLUS Staff had some impact on the lives of the people. This study tried to find the social impact of the KIVAP EPI-PLUS project on the people involved in the project. The study was exploratory in design; and both secondary and primary data were collected through the use of hospital data, questionnaire, focus-group discussions and in-depth individual interviews. Altogether, six hundred and forty-eight people were involved in the study. The findings of the this study have implications for future activities or projects to be carried out by Kintampo Health Research Centre (KHRC) in the district. One of the significant findings was that people remembered the usual activities of the KIVAP EPI-PLUS project; such as dispensing of free medicine, taking of blood and breast-milk samples as well as frequent visits by the various project teams.

Significantly, they could not recall information of possible side-effects of Vitamin A, This is an indication that in research of such nature, constant education on all aspects is necessary. Because when people cannot recall, vital data are lost and this becomes a problem for the validation of reports. While mass participation is essential for the success of any project, researchers should realize that people’s participation is contingent upon their religious beliefs, cultural background, family linkages and peer pressure. Therefore, it is unrealistic for researchers to expect a hundred percent participation. Another important finding from the study is that in rural communities, constant interaction with health personnel may lead to an increase in seeking health care. For instance, the mothers’ desire to make time to receive the KIVAP EPI-PLUS staff is an indication of their positive attitude developed as a result of their interaction with the health personnel. Finally, the success of any future project at the community level, will depend not only on the project’s objectives but more critically on the improvements the project brings on the lives of the people.