#07.14.15

[nmahakan]

07/14/15: Health Post Fieldwork Day 2

[nmahakan]

07/14/15: Health Post Fieldwork Day 2

We started the day off with a meeting with Dr. Nyunt Naing Thein at MTC. We talked about the different types of stakeholders that we should keep in mind. As a medical doctor, he also answered some of our questions regarding MTC. Right after, we got on a truck (called Songthaew) and went to visit a health post located quite far away from MTC and the city. Health post is a station equipped with a health worker who was trained to assist the community with basic healthcare. His/her job is to mostly refer patients to the services that they need (usually refer to MTC or the hospitals around the community). The health post that we visited also has a malaria post right next to it, which was equipped with toolkits that can check malaria. We really liked the health post because it is located in the community itself and is most accessible to its members. By extending the health services, even the basic ones to the communities, more awareness about health can be reached to the community. At this health post, we spoke with 29-year-old Mayuree Patiang who works there. We learned that the health post was originally implemented by the NGO collaborative PLE, but has recently been handed over to the Thai government to continue maintaining it. Mayuree worked at the health post for a year while it was under the management of PLE and was able to spend all of her working time there in the beginning. However, when management was handed over to the Thai government two years ago, she was then required to also work at the larger sub-district hospital and was only able to work at the health post on days that her boss decided that she was not needed at the sub-district hospital. Since Mayuree is the only health worker who works at the health post, on days that she was not able to be there, the health post services would be closed to the community. Mayuree expressed her frustrations with not being given notices ahead of time about when she would be able to work, which led to inconsistency in the days and times that the health post was actually open. She said that since the switch of management to the government, there have been a lot less people coming in and using the services. She feels that this is largely due to the fact that community members are unsure of when the health post is open or may think that it has been permanently closed since whenever they try to come, there is no one there. She also expressed how important she thinks that the health post is to the community. It saves them money on transportation. There is less risk involved since they don’t have to pass through any checkpoints to get there. It also saves them time since it is so close and there is rarely any wait time. From our conversation with Mayuree, we identified the key barriers that might prevent migrant communities from accessing healthcare: transportation, money, time, and concern with security that comes from being undocumented and having to pass through checkpoints. We also saw how important it was to provide consistent services and make sure that the information about when services were available was made well-known to the community.

After we were done talking to Mayuree, we walked around the health post a little bit and was able to see a small river that divides Thailand and Myanmar. It was amazing to me how Myanmar was just a few meters away and people can easily cross the river to get to the other country. Afterwards, we visited a pharmacy near Phannu House to briefly talk about the different types of people who go there. Just like in Suchat & Pongphat market, we learned that migrants go to pharmacies a lot when they’re sick. It’s much cheaper and easier for them to access.

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[1d-updatesx]

Niall out in Los Angeles - July 14, 2015

[1d-updatesx]

Niall out in Los Angeles - July 14, 2015

[1d-updatesx]

Niall out in Los Angeles - July 14, 2015

[1d-updatesx]

Niall out in Los Angeles - July 14, 2015

[exchangedlives]

Kwento. LETgo na ba? Pati prc paasa eh. Nakakalungkot pero kailangang tanggapin 😌 pero in some ways nakakatuwa din haha kainis hindi ko alam irereact ko eh. Anyways ayun nakapagfile na ko sa prc, sa Sept 27 na ang exam at hindi TLE ang ieexam ko math! Haha malaking good luck para sakin though yun naman first choice ko hindi na kasi ako ganun ka confident pero ayako kasi ng soc sci eh sorry memorization kasi yun eh. Tutal wala na rin namang magagawa about dun makikisabay na lang isang malaking challenge to! Dahil ayako ng bumalik sa prc dapat first and last take nato! Kakayanin to sa tulong ni Lord 🙏 Osya good night back to work tomorrow. 😊

[gisud]

Nakahanda na yung MO mix sa ika-labing apat ng Hulyo at kilala mo kung sino ka. Double mix ito. Dayon.