@article{ea6d18e58ceb427abac9a853ef4a1138,
title = "Positioning kindness and care at the centre of health services: A case study of an informal health and development programme oriented to surviving well collectively",
abstract = "The mainstream development agenda highlights how important access to health care is for poorer regions of the world. In the area of maternal health, this is expressed in a concern to drive down rates of maternal morbidity and improve access to maternal health care services. While important, the focus on metrics misses the way that relations of care are fundamental to good health. This paper takes an example of a project which is offering a different approach to health and development in the resource scarce environment of Luang Prabang Province, in northern Laos. Here, a group of antipodean midwives has partnered with provincial health authorities to offer a midwifery training programme to health workers posted in remote rural health centres. Supported by the analytical tools of diverse economies, this paper explores how this programme centres relationality, collectivity and an ethic of kindness, and discusses the advantages of being relationship based, small and informal. The paper concludes that this training programme can be understood as an example of a community economy of care: based on global networks of care instead of formal development programmes built on global networks of bureaucracy.",
keywords = "care, community economies, development, Laos, maternity",
author = "Katharine McKinnon",
note = "Funding Information: Many thanks are owed to the Luang Prabang Provincial Department of Health and the members of the Birthwork training team, Jenny Blyth, Claire and Steffi Arvanitakis for their generous support and facilitation of this investigation. Also to the health workers and community members who allowed me to observe and learn, and shared their thoughts and experiences during the course of training sessions in Luang Prabang. I am very grateful to the comments on early drafts provided by Jenny Blythe, Stephen Healy and Kelly Dombroski, and to the three anonymous reviewers who gave excellent and insightful feedback. This work was conducted with funding from La Trobe University through the Tracy-Banivanua Mar Senior Research Fellowship, awarded to Dr Katharine McKinnon 2018?2020. The reflection, analysis and writing for this paper was conducted on Djab Wurrung Country, in Central Victoria, and I express my gratitude to the ongoing custodianship of Country given by countless generations by the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and to Country itself. Open access publishing facilitated by University of Canberra, as part of the Wiley - University of Canberra agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Funding Information: Many thanks are owed to the Luang Prabang Provincial Department of Health and the members of the Birthwork training team, Jenny Blyth, Claire and Steffi Arvanitakis for their generous support and facilitation of this investigation. Also to the health workers and community members who allowed me to observe and learn, and shared their thoughts and experiences during the course of training sessions in Luang Prabang. I am very grateful to the comments on early drafts provided by Jenny Blythe, Stephen Healy and Kelly Dombroski, and to the three anonymous reviewers who gave excellent and insightful feedback. This work was conducted with funding from La Trobe University through the Tracy‐Banivanua Mar Senior Research Fellowship, awarded to Dr Katharine McKinnon 2018–2020. The reflection, analysis and writing for this paper was conducted on Djab Wurrung Country, in Central Victoria, and I express my gratitude to the ongoing custodianship of Country given by countless generations by the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and to Country itself. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author. Asia Pacific Viewpoint published by Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley \& Sons Australia, Ltd. Funding Information: Many thanks are owed to the Luang Prabang Provincial Department of Health and the members of the Birthwork training team, Jenny Blyth, Claire and Steffi Arvanitakis for their generous support and facilitation of this investigation. Also to the health workers and community members who allowed me to observe and learn, and shared their thoughts and experiences during the course of training sessions in Luang Prabang. I am very grateful to the comments on early drafts provided by Jenny Blythe, Stephen Healy and Kelly Dombroski, and to the three anonymous reviewers who gave excellent and insightful feedback. This work was conducted with funding from La Trobe University through the Tracy‐Banivanua Mar Senior Research Fellowship, awarded to Dr Katharine McKinnon 2018–2020. The reflection, analysis and writing for this paper was conducted on Djab Wurrung Country, in Central Victoria, and I express my gratitude to the ongoing custodianship of Country given by countless generations by the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and to Country itself. Funding Information: Many thanks are owed to the Luang Prabang Provincial Department of Health and the members of the Birthwork training team, Jenny Blyth, Claire and Steffi Arvanitakis for their generous support and facilitation of this investigation. Also to the health workers and community members who allowed me to observe and learn, and shared their thoughts and experiences during the course of training sessions in Luang Prabang. I am very grateful to the comments on early drafts provided by Jenny Blythe, Stephen Healy and Kelly Dombroski, and to the three anonymous reviewers who gave excellent and insightful feedback. This work was conducted with funding from La Trobe University through the Tracy-Banivanua Mar Senior Research Fellowship, awarded to Dr Katharine McKinnon 2018–2020. The reflection, analysis and writing for this paper was conducted on Djab Wurrung Country, in Central Victoria, and I express my gratitude to the ongoing custodianship of Country given by countless generations by the Dja Dja Wurrung people, and to Country itself. Open access publishing facilitated by University of Canberra, as part of the Wiley - University of Canberra agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 The Author. Asia Pacific Viewpoint published by Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley \& Sons Australia, Ltd.",
year = "2022",
month = apr,
doi = "10.1111/apv.12336",
language = "English",
volume = "63",
pages = "138--150",
journal = "Asia Pacific Viewpoint",
issn = "1360-7456",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "1",
}
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being