Participatory action research to address gender norms and power dynamics of female community health volunteers: efforts to support just health system in Nepal

This presentation was made at the 8th Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Japan in November 2024 by Abriti Arjyal of HERD International.

Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) play a pivotal role in Nepal’s health system. This oral presentation explains how participatory action research was conducted to support FCHVs in addressing gender norms and power dynamics. A series of participatory activities were conducted engaging FCHVs and municipal officials, enabling them to identify gender issues and co-create videos showing FCHVs’ lived experiences and challenges. The video produced (which you can watch here) highlights a lack of recognition of their dual responsibilities and fostered community appreciation of their work. As a result of producing the video FCHVs reported increased self-confidence, technical skills, and support from families and stakeholders, positioning the video as a tool for promoting gender equality and inclusivity in the health system.

There’s more on this study here.

Subtitles are available on this video (press ‘play’ and then ‘cc’ at the bottom of the window).