Sathi, a pilot team mentoring program in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, aimed to improve task management and team interaction among Ayushman Aarogya Mandirs (AAM) team members. After the conclusion of the Sathi pilot in September 2025, the intervention was evaluated through a multi-pronged approach. The evaluation aimed to: (1) document the design of the pilot; (2) understand its implementation; (3) determine its effect on behavioral outcomes among the AAM team members and; (4) identify potential factors through which Sathi facilitated (or hindered) the behavioral outcomes. The key behavioral outcomes evaluated were team self-management and quality of team process [ref]. Data were collected through a process documentation of the design and implementation of Sathi including attendance data from each mentoring session, structured interviews with AAM team members at intervention and control facilities at endline and in-depth interviews with intervention AAM team members, their supervisors and mentors at endline. To our knowledge, the evaluation is the first of its kind to understand the effectiveness of a team mentoring program in primary health care in India. The policy and operational guidelines for AAMs lay emphasis on a shift towards team based care in public sector primary health care; the findings from this evaluation inform the design and implementation of strategies to strengthen the same.
