Perceptions of Risk, Vulnerability, and Disease Prevention in Rural Burkina Faso: Implications for Community-Based Health Care and Insurance

This paper examines local discourse on perceived risk and vulnerability among rural and semiurban populations in Kossi Province in the northwest of Burkina Faso. Focus group data are presented to elucidate this discourse in a number of risk domains. Local notions of disease prevention are exemplified with respect to malaria, diarrhea, and vaccine-preventable diseases. Quantitative measures on perceived severity and perceived personal vulnerability, assessed using culturally adapted scaling methods and relating to a list of selected risks, are presented. Implications of the complex local discourse on uncertainty and vulnerability with respect to community-centered development efforts such as community-based health care and insurance are explored.