There are few situations as vulnerable as receiving a diagnosis of a complex illness. Being in such a situation can affect the patient’s mental health, discourage her from attending medical appointments and adhering to treatment, or create an environment of stress and misinformation that prevents the proper management of the illness.
For this reason, and in response to the need for information and empathetic support for women who receive critical diagnoses, Pro Mujer Salud created a comprehensive program to support them in all stages of accepting and understanding the illness: the Care and Counseling Program (PAC).
The PAC serves as a course of action for women who enter the Pro Mujer health program through the available chatbots, health seminars or campaigns, and are directed to it based on the results of their tests; or for those women who already have a diagnosis and wish to receive personalized and specialized support.
This support has a gender perspective approach, is based on scientific evidence, focuses on each person and is applicable in any context because it can be provided for illnesses related to sexual and reproductive health, breast cancer or Diabetes Mellitus. Its goals are:
- Guiding patients through the navigation route in the healthcare system for treatment and adherence to it.
- Promoting self-care among them.
- Providing psychological support to women during the diagnosis process, validating their emotions, and developing and strengthening social and emotional skills.
- Providing tools for stress management and coping strategies for various types of grief.
- Reduce the perception of threat, distress, and fatalism regarding their diagnosis.
- Changing the paradigm of living with cervical cancer, breast cancer or type II diabetes.
- Closing the gaps in access to medical treatments across the entire care continuum.
Within the program, counseling is considered as both, a way to guide patients and a space for emotional support and active listening, aimed at validating and empowering them regarding their situation. In addition to providing the necessary information to improve health and promote voluntary and informed decision-making, the program also focuses on taking into account the user’s attitudes, feelings, beliefs, values and conflicts related to the issue.
This is how the PAC works based on each diagnosis
Breast cancer
Many women face significant barriers when seeking medical care in the face of a breast cancer diagnosis, including emotional, economic, and access-related challenges to healthcare services. To address these challenges, Pro Mujer Salud offers accessible, high-quality care with a gender focus approach that, based on the radiological interpretation of mammograms, can refer them to the PAC.
Through this follow-up program, specific routes are followed to support women in making informed decisions and taking the next immediate step to understand the health condition of their breasts and improve it, if necessary.
To date, 12,566 educational chatbot interactions have taken place across Mexico, 8,302 mammograms have been conducted, and 1,580 women have been referred to the Care and Counseling Program.
Sexual and Reproductive Health
To facilitate the timely diagnostic process, Pro Mujer Salud has a chatbot focused on Sexual and Reproductive Health with three main topics: sexual and reproductive rights, family planning, and gender-based violence. Additionally, it offers the incentive of free Pap smear in the Southeast region of Mexico, which has allowed to identify xx women with this type of cancer.
Once a patient attends the awareness session, she receives the benefit of a free Pap smear and, if diagnosed, she is offered the opportunity to join the PAC. There, she receives emotional support and guidance in navigating the healthcare system for access, treatment and adherence to it. All sessions are arranged with flexibility for online scheduling, and they also cover topics such as family planning, menopause, obstetric violence, gender-based violence, mental health, and psychological first aid.
Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
The PAC’s diabetes counselling service is aimed at all individuals who voluntarily request it through the chatbot or awareness sessions, especially women who already have a diabetes diagnosis or are at high risk of developing it. A number of sessions is agreed upon with them, which may increase or decrease based on the progress of each patient.
In this case, the specific goals of the PAC include providing information on the importance of developing healthy habits, motivating patients to maintain medical follow-up and undergo diagnostic and preventive tests for diabetes, adhering to treatment, and educating women living with diabetes about glycemic control goals, foot care, the importance of self-monitoring, and more.
