Profile of Women's Health in India

In 1997-98, the Women’s Health and Development department of the World Health Organisation, in collaboration with the Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), New Delhi, commenced a country level exercise to prepare Women’s Health Profile in India. Researchers, institutions and consultants from different parts of the country were brought together to undertake preparation of a database volume for the country profile. CEHAT prepared the following four major sections for the volume:
1. Country profile on health and health care in India: This section deals with the development of health care services, the sectoral and regional distribution of services, the health service programmes of the country, financing of health services in India, etc.
2. Women’s access to health care: The data and analysis of health seeking behaviour, use and non-use of health care services by women, the socio-economic determinants of the use and non-use of services, etc., are dealt with in this section.
3. Women’s reproductive health: The data from secondary sources and from numerous surveys carried out to understand women’s reproductive health are brought together in this section to provide a comprehensive picture of the status of women’s reproductive health in India.
4. Leading causes of morbidity and mortality: In the recent past, there have been several studies of reported and observed reproductive morbidity among women. This section brings them together. In addition, the hospital-based data and data reported by the health system on women’s morbidity are analysed. This section also provides similar overview of data on mortality among women and its causes.

This project provided an opportunity to CEHAT to carry out an overview of existing information on women’s health at the national level, understand the differentials across the states and various socioeconomic classes in India.

Supported by: the VHAI/WHO Research Team:Aditi Iyer