Education and Public Health and Safety In Fiji

Dear Supporters,

Fiji Dawasamu Health Programme began in January 2018 with the long-term objective to assist the local District Nurse on the health issues concerning the District of Dawasamu in accordance with the Ministry of Health’s annual objectives for this District. One area of focus is the capacity development of community health workers.  A community health worker is a community liaison between the village they live in and the district nurse. The community health worker is trained to provide basic first aid and inform their village about various issues that affect them and relay feedback to the district nurse about concerns such as an infection outbreak or a sick elderly person. Community health workers minimise the challenges that may arise due to the lack of access to health services and/or lack of transportation. 

The main goal of our collaborative project is to support the functions of District Nurse that are essential for both productivity and improving health and wellness.  We collaboratively  provide support to increase the self-efficacy of 14 community health workers to be productive health providers within their communities that span between Dawasamu District and Bureiwai District.

 A key objective is assisting in creating and facilitating workshops to help build confidence and target areas in which community health workers would like to further develop their skills and knowledge. This is not only about professional development but also about personal development. These workshops included activities that improved personal strength, communication and professional development awareness for the very valued community health workers. Including a personal development review which allows them to understand their strengths and limitations and plan out their future development. These types of workshops boost their confidence which has started to show when they are conducting their weekly one on one health sessions with community members plus facilitating workshops at a Health and Wellbeing Community Roadshow.

It is well-established that a community health worker is crucial to both optimizing quality of care and addressing increased patient volume. It is part of a District Nurse’s role to seek continuous learning opportunities for her team. Together they work hard to establish and maintain an environment that promotes positive well-being by providing information, activities, and assistance designed to support healthy life choices within their communities.

It has been well-recognised by the Department of Health in Fiji that our collaborative project has strengthened health care support within the area, and we hope you enjoyed learning about our work and continue to stay engaged with and support our project. Together we  can work towards strengthening healthcare support locally and  improving  the communities access to it, through continued learning and development opportunities for the community health team.

Your ongoing support is invaluable to the project and that objective - thank you once again!