Public Report on Health (2005 Onwards)

Public Report on Health is a research and advocacy project. Its field based research work is being conducted in selected districts in six states- Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. CEHAT coordinates the study in Maharashtra.

Objectives

• To present a perspective on People's Right to Health within a holistic framework.
• Access to quality care across a combination of systems viz.- home remedies various folk, indigenous and allopathic systems- based on a continuum from home, to community, to primary to secondary and tertiary levels of care.

Situation Study in selected villages in two districts of Maharashtra

The present study is an intensive research study comprising of various components. In the first phase of the study a situation analysis of public health was conducted in four villages in two districts of Maharashtra namely Jalna and Pune. The situation study was meant to provide a picture of the health situation and health services in the sample areas. This involved rapid assessment of heath related information. The information received from the situation study was used to formulate in depth research questions for the Intensive Village Study (IVS). It will also provided critical inputs for the quantitative survey, by helping to identify questions that will bring out regional differences.

Intensive Village Study An Intensive Village Study was conducted in one village in Jalna District. This was a year long study which included a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. Objectives

• To create a health profile for the village population and its socio-economic sub-groups, including causes of mortality, morbidity pattern and nutritional status (to feed into developing the basic range of services).
• To document current health-seeking behaviour of the village population and its socio-economic sub-groups as well as its impact on households and the community (to feed into developing the basic range of services).
• To understand the perceptions of the village population and its socio-economic sub-groups with regard to health and wellbeing, illness, health seeking practices and healthcare providers (to feed into overall public policy and health care policy).
• To document the entire health care provisioning; diverse types of health care, its ‘quality’ and work culture (to feed into improving health care services).
• To understand the perceptions of the various health care providers regarding the rationale for their practices, the community they serve, its health and wellbeing, their own aspirations and the problems they face because of systemic issues of the nature of health services development (to feed into improving health care services).

Four seasonal morbidity rounds, individual and household level economic surveys, an in depth women’s morbidity survey, seasonal food, work and illness log and health care providers survey are completed. The qualitative data is being compiled and quantitative data is being analysed.

The second phase of the study comprised of household and facilities survey in ten villages in Jalna and Pune District. Surveys carried out were household level morbidity survey, village, taluka and district level providers survey and facilities survey and key informant interviews for studying utilisation of health facilities.

Supported by: International Development Research Center, Canada
Team: Leni Chaudhuri, Amit Khandewale, Shachi Phadke, Prashant Raymus and Tayyaba Shaikh