JLT champions present suggestion boxes to Koudougou’s mayor.
The residents of Koudougou in Burkina Faso visit their health facilities for various types of care, but until recently did not have the opportunity to provide feedback on the quality of care or other services received. This lack of feedback made it difficult to assess user satisfaction and identify areas for improvement, creating accountability issues.
The Challenge Initiative (TCI) holds quarterly workshops in Koudougou using the Reflection and Action to Improve Self-reliance and Effectiveness (RAISE) tool to evaluate the quality and sustainability of its family planning and adolescent and health sexual and reproductive health (AYSRH) interventions. An important aspect measured during RAISE workshops is client satisfaction with family planning and AYSRH services. However, the workshops revealed that the local government had not made it a priority to establish mechanisms for measuring client satisfaction with service delivery, including the attitude of service providers, cleanliness of establishments, hygiene, continuity of services and availability of trained staff.
During one workshop, Fadilatou Ouesdraogo, who leads a group of youth champions called Jeunes Leaders Transformationnels (JLTs), emphasized the importance of the quality of family planning and AYSRH services.
The collaboration with TCI allowed us to see to what extent the quality aspect of family planning and AYSRH services is important in a health facility. We are committed to helping local governments offer clients the opportunity to freely express their opinions on the quality of services and taking measures to improve them.”
The JLT youth leaders successfully advocated in Koudougou for the placement of nine suggestion boxes in health facilities in July 2021. These physical suggestion boxes allow clients to deposit paper slips with suggestions for improving the quality of health services, particularly family planning and AYSRH services. Complaints and suggestions are then reported to the District Chief Medical Officer, where they are processed with solutions provided. This feedback mechanism has improved the quality of health services by making them more people-centered and tailored to individual preferences and the clients’ needs.
The use of suggestion boxes has resulted in more clients coming to the Koudougou Urban Medical Center, which has seen a 6% increase from 474 in July 2021 to 504 in September 2022. Effectively involving the community can go a long way in improving the quality of family planning and AYSRH services.
Client volume increase of 6% at Koudougou Urban Health Center (Jul. 2021 – Sept. 2022).
Dr. Béatrice Zerbo, Manager of the Koudougou Urban Medical Center, noted:
Thanks to JLT and TCI, this system has made it possible to improve the use of family planning services at the Koudougou Urban Medical Center where the volume of clients has increased.”
Customers have praised the system, noting that before the installation of suggestion boxes, they did not have the opportunity to provide feedback or suggestions for improvement, but they now feel more motivated to return to health centers since their suggestions are taken into account. They also appreciate the confidentiality of the system, which allows them to express their opinions freely.
