Presented on Monday, September 28 at the Nice Faculty of Medicine, the university certificate “Women for Women” welcomes its very first cohort on the Azure Coast. This new training program, led by Côte d’Azur University, Nice University Hospital and La Maison des Femmes, aims to train women from priority neighborhoods to become relays for health prevention and information.
Inspired by a program launched in Marseille in 2022, the initiative is based on an observation: in the priority neighborhoods of the city (QPV), access to care remains marked by numerous inequalities. Forgoing care, distance from health professionals, or lack of information can complicate the medical journey of certain residents.
The objective of “Women for Women” is therefore to bring prevention closer to residents by relying on women who know their neighborhood and its realities.
Training based on peer education
During the program presentation, Dr. Marie Sid recalled the principle at the heart of the training: peer education.
The idea is to rely on women already engaged in their neighborhood to transmit health information to those around them. “We learn better from people who resemble us. When information comes from women we know, who share the same building or neighborhood as us, we take it more seriously than from someone in a white coat seen once a year,” explained Dr. Marie Sid.
The training is accessible for free and without any educational prerequisites. For this first cohort in Nice, six women were selected. Coming notably from L’Ariane and Les Moulins, as well as from Grasse and Vallauris, they are now engaged in this training program.
75 hours of coursework to learn how to discuss health
The university certificate is based on three stages: learn, co-create and act. The first part is devoted to theory. Students will follow 75 hours of coursework, mainly on Mondays and Tuesdays, excluding school holidays, from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. These schedules are designed to allow participants to balance training with their family commitments.
Seven main themes will be covered: women’s health, perinatal health, mental health, oral health, environmental health, combating domestic violence, and psychosocial skills.
Students will also discover various resource structures in the area during sessions organized “outside the classroom,” including the CIDFF and maternal and child health services.
300 hours on the ground to take action
After this first theoretical phase, participants will move to practice. From February to June, they will complete 300 hours of immersion, at a rate of 15 hours per week, within community associations. This period will allow them to apply the knowledge acquired during coursework and to design and conduct prevention workshops for residents.
The curriculum does not end with the immersion. The six participants must also present a university thesis defense, which will validate their training.
Training designed for neighborhoods, but also for participants
Beyond learning health knowledge, “Women for Women” also intends to be a lever for professional and personal empowerment for participants.
The six students notably describe this training as an opportunity to regain confidence, learn, and in turn be able to help the women in their community.
Led pedagogically by Prof. Jérôme Delotte and coordinated by Manon Dufour, prevention officer at La Maison des Femmes, the program seeks to create a link between the university, health professionals and residents of the neighborhoods.
Ultimately, these six first participants are intended to become relays capable of transmitting prevention messages directly in the field. A way of circulating information differently, as close as possible to the women it addresses.
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