Evaluation report
Living with FGM: Improving Knowledge and Skills of Health Care Providers in Iraqi Kurdistan
Mahmoudi O ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study evaluated a training programme (Train the Trainer workshops) for social workers in Iraqi Kurdistan who work with girls and women affected by female genital mutilation. Forty-four social workers received training on providing psychosexual and physical care, along with knowledge of referral programmes. The training significantly improved participants' knowledge and skills across all measured areas, with improvements sustained at follow-up.
Key points
- Participants showed significant improvements in knowledge of psychosexual and physical care for FGM-affected girls and women (P=.001)
- Psychosexual skills increased significantly following the training (P=.001)
- Knowledge of referral programmes for FGM victims improved significantly (P=.001)
- Improvements were sustained from post-test to follow-up assessment
- Training focused on integrating physical and psychosocial care into existing social work activities
Limitations
The study has no comparison group, so we cannot determine whether improvements were due to the training itself or other factors. The relatively small sample size (44 participants) and focus on Iraqi Kurdistan limits generalisability to other contexts.
Abstract
Abstract Background: Despite the high prevalence of female genital mutilation in many settings and the health consequences associated with it, many healthcare providers have limited knowledge of female genital mutilation and limited skills for preventing and managing related complications. With Knowledge of this Important matter aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of TOT workshops on the knowledge and skills of social workers working with girls and women affected by FGM.Methods: To demonstrate the findings, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pre and post-assessment. There were 44 participants who worked with FGM victims across Iraqi Kurdistan. Socio-demographic details of the participants who have collected knowledge on psychosexual and physical care, psychosexual skills, and referral programs were assessed using a continuum scale of 0 to 4. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out for the analysis.Results: The results showed that participants' knowledge and skills improved in relation to psychosexual and physical care for girls and women living with FGM and referral programs for them. The paired sample t-test carried showed a significant increase in knowledge among participants in psychosexual and physical care for girls and women living with FGM (f=9.25, df=1, P=.001), Psychosexual skills (f=-8.20, df=1, P=.001), and FGM victims referral Programs (t=12.95, df=1, P=.001). Follow-up test also showed that these changes were constant from post-test to follow-up.Conclusions: Preparing the social workers on the integration of physical and psychosocial care for girls and women living with FGM in their existing activities would equip them in providing holistic care for them in addressing the emerging psychosexual problems.