The role of social accountability in changing service users’ values, attitudes, and interactions with the health services: a pre-post study

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of community engagement through social accountability on service users’ values, attitudes and interactions. We conducted a pre–post study of the community and provider driven social accountability intervention (CaPSAI) over a 12-month period among 1,500 serv...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Victoria Boydell, Petrus S. Steyn, Joanna Paula Cordero, Ndema Habib, My Huong Nguyen, Dela Nai, Donat Shamba, Kamil Fuseini, Sigilbert Mrema, James Kiarie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-09-01
Series:BMC Health Services Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09971-x
Description
Summary:Abstract This study evaluated the effects of community engagement through social accountability on service users’ values, attitudes and interactions. We conducted a pre–post study of the community and provider driven social accountability intervention (CaPSAI) over a 12-month period among 1,500 service users in 8 health facilites in Ghana and in Tanzania (n = 3,000). In both countries, there were significant improvements in women’s participation in household decision-making and in how service users’ perceive their treatment by health workers. In both settings, however, there was a decline in women’s knowledge of rights, perception of service quality, awareness of accountability mechanisms and collective efficacy in the community. Though CaPSAI intervention set out to change the values, attitudes, and interactions between community members and those providing contraceptive services, there were changes in different directions that require closer examination.
ISSN:1472-6963