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1. Rapid Care Analysis as a Qualitative Research Tool to Explore Unpaid Care Work: Experience from Char Area in Bangladesh

Author:
Sahida Islam Khondaker
Publication Date:
06-2019
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Everyday unpaid care work is carried out all over the world and it is necessary for a society’s wellbeing. However, unpaid care work is largely ignored by economic and social public policy initiatives. Neither it is adequately valued in economic terms. In developing countries like Bangladesh, most research on unpaid care work is dominated by quantitative research methodologies that generally cannot capture how people actually experience unpaid work on a daily basis. Moreover, they neglect the arena of perceptions of unpaid work. Qualitative participatory approaches allow people to identify the extent to which unpaid work-related problems affect their communities, encourage people to assess the causes and consequences of inequitable distribution of care work and facilitate the identification of interventions from the perspectives of women and men, rather than policymakers or scholars. This paper attempts to describe and analyze the Rapid Care Analysis (RCA) as a qualitative method to study unpaid care work and establish that compared to quantitative methods, RCA as a qualitative method can capture the unequal distribution of care work in the community, measure time uses, create awareness and also find out available services, infrastructure and options to reduce and redistribute care work more comprehensively. From different RCA exercises, it is observed that both male and female participants have understood the notion of heavy and unequal care work. Through the exercise, participants recognized care work as work. Participants also came up with some solution to reduce care work. Quantitative methods cannot provide these insights. Therefore, RCA could be one of the best tools for conducting research on care work.
Topic:
Economy, Research, Public Policy, and Care
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

2. Unifying Social Identity: Community Skilled Birth Attendant

Author:
Ahrafuzzaman Khan and Md. Kamruzzaman
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
Abstract:
Homebirth is regarded as the gold standard and the premier standard of birth. Community Skilled Birth Attendants (CSBA) received a six-month training in and out of class at skilled birth attendant (SBA) training institutes, approved by the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. The trainees are involved in assisting the safe and clean delivery at home in rural Bangladesh. Many CSBAs are engaged in Government and non-government organizations in relation to providing birth attendant services in rural Bangladesh. The intention of HNPP, BRAC is to increase the number of CSBA in order to achieve MDG 5. The study explored the process of social identification of CSBAs. The notion of social identity has delineated a comprehensive account of social relations in the theory of practice of Pierre Bourdieu. Moreover, social relations explained the process of social identification employing the concept of self-categorization and social categorization. The study employed qualitative methods to explore the mechanisms of internal and social categorization of CSBAs. The findings reveal that CSBAs are known as BRAC health cadres in the community. They are struggling to establish their identity as trained midwives in the community. Despite some challenges of their professions, CSBAs are respected as ‘dactar or nurse apa’ by the villages. Professional training on SBA enables them to generate income and social prestige. TBAs and village doctors create constraints to perform the professional responsibilities of the CSBA in the community. On the other hand, the villagers are still bewildered about the terms as well as the roles and responsibilities of Shasthya Shebika (SS), Newborn Health Workers (NHWs), Shasthya Kormi (SK) and CSBA of HNPP, BRAC. They are confused about whether health providers of BRAC are required to pay for assisting home birth. The villagers also perceive that assisting to homebirth is considered a social norm rather than professional duty. Moreover, the villagers hardly found government service providers in this regard. Therefore, the study has outlined a number of recommendations for strengthening the profession of CSBAs of HNPP in BRAC.
Topic:
Identity, Birthing, Skills, and Care
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia