IPSI launched its inaugural issue of Primary Healthcare Matters series on World Health Day 2024. Through this series we aim to inform on innovations and best practices in primary health care in India.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s ‘Ayushman Bharat’ program aims to strengthen Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) through Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs, now known as Ayushman Arogya Mandir or AAM). The AB-HWC program seeks to transition from a selective approach to a comprehensive model of delivering primary healthcare services.
Evidence informed decision-making using routine health information systems has been an ongoing challenge due to various factors. In the current context of Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs), information is available across multiple, disease- or program-specific data portals; however, there is no integrated system that can enable facility and block/district managers to make decisions on comprehensive health of the population.
Series #6: Community action for better health: The potential of Village Health Councils in Meghalaya
The state of Meghalaya, in north-eastern India, has been at the forefront of promoting community involvement through Village Health Councils (VHCs). VHCs are elected bodies comprising key village representatives. VHC are mandated to organise efforts around improving nutrition and health in their communities, and thereby bridge the gap between the community and primary health care system.
Team-based models of delivering primary health care services are widely recognized as necessary for providing people with comprehensive and continuous health care. While health policy guidelines in India identify roles and responsibilities of each team member at Sub-Health Centers (now known as Ayushman Arogya Mandir; previously Health and Wellness Centers), there is a need to obtain a grounded understanding of team functions and corresponding team competencies (i.e. key knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes) that teams should possess to deliver health services effectively.
Digital health information systems are essential for collecting information on population health. However, data collection challenges including technological barriers and redundant data entry processes increase the workload for data collection. In West Garo Hills in the state of Meghalaya, health workers put significant time and effort into data collection, fragmented data management systems and inefficient processes mean that the data collected is not effectively used to improve service delivery.