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Example 2: Problem situation: In district “Z” (population 150,000) there are 2 health centers, 1 hospital
and 15 health stations and all of them function smoothly. However, at the end of the year it
was found that the EPI coverage was only 25%.
Discrepancy: Although district “Z” had 100% availability of health services and at least 80%
of the children should have had full vaccinations the EPI coverage was only 25% as seen
above.
Problem question: What factors influence the low EPI coverage in district “Z”? Possible answers: • Mothers might have problems for not attending in the EPI sessions.
• The
MCH, EPI, OPD, CDD , etc… programmes might not have been integrated; hence
children might have missed opportunities in getting immunization.
• The follow up of defaulting children might not be effective and other reasons.
Thus, the above problem situation is researchable . 2.4 Criteria for prioritizing problems for research Each problem that is proposed for research has to be judged according to certain guidelines
or criteria. There may be several ideas to choose from.
Before deciding on a research topic, each proposed topic must be compared with all other
options.
The selection and analysis of the problem for research should involve those who are responsible for the health status of the community. This would include managers in the health services, health-care workers, and community leaders, as well as researchers.
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The guidelines or criteria given below can help in the process of selection.
a) Criteria for selecting a research topic
