COLLEGE OF MEDICINE, NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
NAIREVUREVUNICAGI
COMMUNITY
PROFILE
2010
Group members: Siteri Nalu
Kilioni Senivutu
Luisa Lewadina
Shonam Reddy
Apolosi Waqalevu
TABLE Content
Content page
Acknowledgement 3 Aim 4 Introduction 5 Methodology 6 Demography of Nairevurevunicagi 7 Results Population 8 Housing Structure 9 Level of Education 10 Mental Health Capacity 11 Water Supply 13 Lavatory 14 Vectors 15 Non-communicable Disease 16 Communicable Disease 17 Activities to be Active 18 Air Pollution 20 Problems Identified and Prioritized 21 Recommendation 23 Conclusion 24 Acknowledgment
The following should be thanked without those efforts this profile would not been able to compile.
Mr. Kelemedi Naidiri (land owner)
For the brief history of the community and also allowing the group to carry out the community profiling in Nairevurevunicagi.
Community members
For answering the questionnaires honestly, for their time and patience.
Dr Amelia Turagabeci (Lecturer)
Group members
For their cooperation and time in compiling the data collected from the community.
FsMed Staff
Aim
The aim of this research on the Nairevurevunicagi community is to:
Identify the health problems and needs within the community
Identify the social problems presented by the community members
Communicate the findings of the needs assessment with the Nairevurevunicagi community members and enable them to identify priority action areas pertaining to their health.
INTRODUCTION
A community is a collection of population living in a particular area taken over a time period.
Our environment is one of the major determinants of our health standard. Our lifestyle and our everyday behavior have a direct impact on our health. Keeping oneself healthy is just as important as ensuring a healthy surrounding and an environment which is litter free.
In here study of communities is very important and together with considering the fundamental aim of Primary Health Care (PHC) that is to “ensure universal accessibility through available resources and services with the full participation of the community and at a cost which is affordable”.(WHO,1997)
The community which will be the center of the study is the Nairevurevunicagi community.
It is about studying their different life style and wellbeing, observing their culture and living behaviors’ and identifies health seeking behaviors that would improve the lives of the Nairevurevunicagi community.
Moreover, the Primary Health Care approach and how the community responds to this approach would be discussed. Nairevurevunicagi community is located about 4 miles from Suva city along the Khalsa road in the province of Naitasiri.
There are approximately 20 houses in which 2 are unoccupied. The community is on a rugged terrain and is served by the local bus company. It was first settled back in 1985 with 7 household. The main reasons why they moved to Nairevurevunicagi were because they are indigenous and they are to occupy their own piece of land. Also, some other reasons why they moved were for easy accessibility to farming land, to other facilities e.g. hospital and the growing number of population at Kalabu village.
METHODOLOGY
A few methods were used to collect the information to assist and hence formulate an ideal pattern to identify problems in the Nairevurevunicagi community and provide its solution.
Questionnaire
Questionnaires were based on Primary Health Care in the community. These questionnaires were given out to the 18 households in the community and the duration of answering the questionnaire was 2 days.
Interviews
Personal interview was done with village headman on the history of the community.
Observation
Observing simple characteristics and behavior of the community with respect to their environment and social status was also carried out.
DEMOGRAPHY OF NAIREVUREVUNICAGI
Nairevurevunicagi is located in the Naitasiri Province and it covers approximately 100 acres of fertile land which is in fact divided into six zones headed by an appointed individual.
The community has an estimated of 110 population compromising of 18 households. All the community members are Christians.
Family size ranges from 2 people to 12 people per household and most family members are employed in the government and private sector. Unemployment is not so much an issue as those who stay at home make use of the land for farming.
Results
POPULATION STATISTICS
Fig 1: The ethnic distribution at Nairevurevunicagi.
The population of Nairevurevunicagi is quite small compared to other communities in the area. With just a total population of count of 110 people, 107 are Fijians and 7 are Rotumans which is a family. Over population can put a stress on the environment, society and resources. Overcrowding has a drastic impact on the health of the community as a whole; easy transmission of disease of contagious disease and straining the resources is some of the negative impact that is associated with overcrowding.
Housing Structure
Fig 2: Housing structure at Nairevurevunicagi.
Housing is an important aspect of living and it is also a determinant of health. According to the questionnaires collected and through our own observations a total of 10 houses were made of corrugated iron which makes up 56%of the pie chart. Concrete houses make up 27% of the community which is build by 6 families. Most of these families are well-off and thus able to construct concrete houses. The remaining 17 % are wooden houses.
Level of Education
Fig 3: Level of education attained by the children of the community.
As school children progress up the education ladder their number decreases due to several factors whereby financial hardship is one of the major setbacks. There are a total of 23 students in Nairevurevunicagi, only 1 student is attending pre-school, 11 are attending primary school,10 at junior high school and another student is attending secondary school. The frequency of school dropouts were also enquired on but a certain figure could not be reached as youths find it hard to disclose such information honestly.
MENTAL HEALTH CAPACITY
Stress is caused by lots of anxiety and worry. Most of this stress is caused by the circumstances that an individual go through. However if this is not taken of care of it may result in mental health.
Fig 4: How family members cope with stress
The above bar graph illustrates how to handle stress in a family as given by the members of the Nairevurevunicagi community. Of the 18 households that were interviewed, 7 of them suggested that one should share his/her problems with the members of his/her or anyone whom he is comfortable with, 6 families said that they often seek divine interventions in order to cope with the stress that they go through while the remaining 5 families that they often take a vacation or simply have a good night of sleep to relieve the stress.
What to do when a Family Member is Sick
Fig 5: Graph showing what to do when a family member is sick.
According to the questionnaire given, most of them replied that they often take the sick member of the family to the hospital for a check-up. 25% said that they use panadol for those who are sick and 28% resort to use herbal medicine given by the elders of the community.The remaining 15% said that they pray for the sick
WATER SUPPLY
The water supply in the Nairevurevunicagi Community is provided by the Fiji Water Authority. However, sometimes it is unsafe to drink the water due to prolong water cuts. The inadequate water supply leaves people to rely on nearby creeks and streams to cater for domestic purposes. Therefore, people have large tanks for storage of rain water to compensate during water cuts
WATER QUALITY RESULT
SITE TOTAL COLIFORM/100 ML FAECAL COLIFORM/100ML E.COLIFORM/100 ML TAP 1 NIL NIL NIL TAP 2 NIL NIL NIL Fig 5: The water sampling result
After water sampling, it was found out that there were no form of microbiological parameters found, i.e. no Coli form, Faecal Coli form or E.Coli form.
LAVATORY
Fig 6: Lavatory that is used by the Nairevurevunicagi community.
A toilet can be classified as a washroom or a lavatory.
After carrying out the survey, waste disposal system is mainly with septic tanks. Another system used by few members of the community is Water seal. It was found that 89% of the household in the Nairevurevunicagi community use septic tank while 11% of the household use water seal. It was noted that most of the waste disposal system was in a good condition.
VECTORS
Vectors are known to have been the main mode for the transmission of most diseases within the community. Most of which are commonly found in every household in the Nairevurevunicagi community.
Fig 7: Common vectors found in the community.
Mosquitoes make up the highest percentage of vectors in the Nairevurevunicagi community. This is because of the overgrown grass around the household. Followed by rodents and flies because of the communal dumping area which is not very far from the community. Flies have also been the main factor for the increasing number of illnesses as voiced by the people that were being interviewed. Cockroaches and spiders are also prevalent in the community and thus vectors for the transmission of vector borne disease.
NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Diseases that do not spread from one person to another
Also known as the lifestyle disease
Fig 8: Common comminicable diseases at Nairevurevunicagi
There appears to be a low prevalence of NCD’s in the community as shown in the chart above. The above pie chart illustrates that 63% of the community population said that there are no non communicable disease existing in their families whereas the remaining 31% and 6% are suffering from hypertension and diabetes.
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
Diseases that can spread from one person to another.
Fig 9: Communicable diseases prevalent in the community.
The above pie chart illustrates that 35% of the community said that there are non communicable disease existing in their families whereas the remaining 65% are suffering from TB, dengue and itchiness.
Activities to be Active
Fig 10: Activities to keep active.
According to the questionnaires received, majority of the community members engage in farming in order to keep themselves active. Also some of the villages usually take a walk and 7% goes for jogging.
Fig 11: Dampness that was noticed
Common places where dampness was identified in the communities’ individual homes are door windows, wall of the house and on the floors.
Fig 12: Types of drain in the community.
Out of the 18 questionnaires received, most of the villagers have open drain system, while some V-drain and communal drain system.
Fig 13: People who have attended Health Education.
Most of the villages are unaware of the health education programs that are carried out in the community, implying that they do not know health issues that are common in their community.
AIR POLLUTION
Air pollution is the presence of solids, liquids or gases in amounts that are injurious or detrimental to man, animal, plants or property.
Fig 10: Air pollution problems in the community.
The above pie chart illustrate that 37% of the community population said that the major problems of air pollution is due to foul smell of pig sty, 22% said that it is garbage disposal, 14% say it is a septic tank, 8% say it is from farming practice, 5% from factory emission and polluted creek and 3% says that it is smoke from traffic, smell from sewer and poultry.
PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED AND PRIOTIRISED
WATER PROBLEMS
Even though the Nairevurevunicagi community is served by the water authority of Fiji, there are still problems faced as expressed by the village headman (Naidiri. K, 2010). This is with regards to frequent water cuts because the community is situated at a slight hill thus usually the pressure of water is low. After a prolong water cuts the water is discolored and it is unsafe for consumption.
SANITATION
From our observation and the results obtained, the houses in the community were very close to one another. Also there is a need to carry out a general clean-up of the community. However this is going to take a long time but we need to take steps to prevent some major disease outbreaks if it is ever happen.
AIR POLLUTION
Since it is a Fijian community, few families in the area have pigpens and this is are located near their houses. Foul smell emitted from this pigpen is a health hazard in the community. Pigs are also left loose to scavenge for leftover food and in the process leave their droppings everywhere and the community members walking barefoot are at risk of getting parasitic infectious from the animals.
HEALTH PROMOTION
The community raised their concern of the infrequent visit by the health officials in conducting awareness programs. This awareness programs is to advice the people of common infectious disease, type of diet to be taken and how to maintain a low risk of a patients from getting a particular disease.
FAMILY PLANNING
As health professions we have to be little bit careful of these issues as it is considered as a taboo in the Fijian community. However people should be aware of this contraceptive available for use, because it will minimize the risk of unwanted pregnancy. Most of the community had no idea about family planning and therefore there is a need to advice them.
RECOMMENDATION
After the completion of this community practicum, the following recommendations have been made.
Encourage community participation in regards to their health status and health. As analyzed in figure 12 that most of the community members are unaware of the health education programs and thus they do not know how to maintain their health status. The community must sort help from the Ministry of Health to conduct awareness programs so that the community is made aware of the environmental hazards surrounding their lives.
Vector problem in the community needs to be addressed as most vectors are present abundantly mainly because of the dirty surrounding. Therefore, they should be encouraged to keep their compound in a clean condition.
The communities faces water problems during prolong water cuts which results in contaminated water. Therefore, people should practice boiling water before drinking or cooking to prevent water borne diseases.
The prevalence of the communicable and non-communicable disease in the community needs to be taken care of through the food that is consumed and the lifestyle of the people.
Finally, the air pollution problems in the community can be minimized through relocation of pigpen which is near the village houses. This will prevent flies and other pests from spreading or contaminating foods.
CONCLUSION
After presenting the result of our findings back to our community they were stirred to do something about their environment and to upgrade the state of health in their community as a whole. Nairevurevunicagi is a small community, the study strengthen community involvement in decision making, strengthen community ties by promoting partnership and team work and better use of resources.
Community involvement in health will also increase the chance of the program being successful. In addition to that people will also be able to contribute some resources such as money, labor and material to support this is because of the fact that the community will feel involve in the activity being carried out for them. The result would therefore be a much integrated community.
Nevertheless, we hope to make a difference in the Nairevurevunicagi community thus making them take control of it and maintain the level of it in the near future without the help of health personnel.
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Percentage of Activities to keep Active
33%
7%
23%
37%
Walking
Jogging
Playing
Farming
Percentage of Dampness Noticed indoors
6%
22%
72%
Window
Walls
Floors
Percentage of People who have attended Health Education
61%
39%
Did not attend
Attend