Participatory Processes Applied to Developing Culturally Appropriate Educational Material Among the Ngäbe-Buglé Women of Panama for Domestic Violence Prevention

Abstract

The Ngäbe-Buglé is the largest underserved indigenous population in Panama facing extreme health disparities compounded by structural, social, and cultural factors. Contributing factors to the poor health outcomes in this region include extreme poverty, low education, high maternal and infant mortality, alcohol use, and an increasing trend of domestic violence. The present intervention used community participatory processes to develop tailored material within the Ngäbe-Buglé community and training health promoters to deliver health education to the most rural areas. There were 78 health promoters who were trained using the training-of-trainers approach. Promoters distributed the health messages to their communities using the tailored material, the main topic discussed being domestic violence. Almost 7,000 community members received health education, demonstrating increased knowledge and intent to act on information received. Future directions include further funding, research, and education of indigenous groups in Panama on domestic violence.

Keywords: Ngäbe-Buglé; Panama; community participatory processes; domestic violence; indigenous health; training of trainers.