The Cuban Mother-Child Attention Program aiming at fulfil the ambition of the Comprehensive Concept of Health : a study through the practice of the community policlinic "Héroes de Girón" in Havana City

Abstract

The present thesis is a study about the development experience at the community level of the Cuban national program addressed to the attention to mothers and children: The Mother Child Attention Program. This program is a very over- holding because it is responsible for the whole process of women's reproductive health, from their teenage to adulthood, and for the care-taking of the health of the children until they are 14 years old, but pregnancy and babies care taking stands out as one of the most important and jealousy cared concem. A qualitative methodology, based on interviews and observation, was used to accomplish the objective of give an accurate description about the Mother- Child Attention Program at a policlinic leve1 and to correlate the outcome of the program with its educational actions, aiming at the improvement of a comprehensive health. it is shown throughout the thesis that a lot of conditions are given to the health system and consequently to the policlinic so as to make their work more successful. Because of the good relationship existing between doctors and patients, the positive atmosphere during the consultation and because of the possibility doctors and nurses have been provided with to visit the patients and their families home settings, that allows the health professionals to assess the environment and the emotional atmosphere pregnant women live in, paving way to further interactions with other institutions and organizations within the community which may help and cooperate as full participants in health care decision making. Another important element is the role of the Mass Medias. In Cuba, these institutions are education-oriented. And it is als0 indispensable to emphasize the role of sorne social institutions as the Cuban family; which has traditionally played a predominant role towards our cultural insights, like collectivism as the model of life-style. In the policlinic studied here the conditions for the different specialists to coordinate and share their work and assistance as a team are favourable, so that they can be abIe to assess the cases from a multidisciplinary perspective. But actually, the fact is that the multi or interdisciplinary perspective is confused with that of an integral and comprehensivc perspcctivc and the educational function is almost always identificd as an informativt function. The procedurc being used is really far from being comprehensive or family oriented. In fact, their aim is to achieve the hcalth indicators as the main goal; it is not properly realized that it is necessary to attend many other aspects in a relational way for these indicators to be accomplished.