Quality of Health Assistants in Primary Health Centres in Rural Maharashtra, India.
Introduction: Health assistants are important functionaries of the primary health care system in India. Their role is supervision of field-based services among other things. A quality assurance mechanism for these health assistants is lacking. The present study was undertaken with the objectives of...
| Publicado en: | Health Services Insights no. 6; pp. 9 - 14 |
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| Autores principales: | , |
| Formato: | research tables/charts Journal Article |
| Publicado: |
Sage Publications Inc.
2013
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | Introduction: Health assistants are important functionaries of the primary health care system in India. Their role is supervision of field-based services among other things. A quality assurance mechanism for these health assistants is lacking. The present study was undertaken with the objectives of developing a tool to assess the quality of health assistants in primary health centres (PHCs) and to assess their quality using this tool. Methodology: Health assistants from three PHCs in the Wardha district of India were observed for a year using a tool developed from primary health care management Aavancement program modules. Data was collected by direct observation, interview, and review of records for quality of activities. Results: Staff strength of health assistants was 87.5%. None of the health assistants were clear about their job descriptions. A supervisory schedule for providing supportive supervision to auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) was absent; most field activities pertaining to maternal and child health received poor focus. Monthly meetings lacked a clear agenda, and comments on quality improvement of services provided by the ANMs were missing. Conclusion: Continuous training with sensitization on quality issues is required to improve the unsatisfactory quality. |
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