Assessing the potential of self-help group women for improving reproductive health of women in a tribal block of Maharashtra, India.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Medknow Country of Publication: India NLM ID: 0374701 Publication Model: Print Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 0971-5916 (Print) Linking ISSN: 09715916 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Indian J Med Res Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Publication: <2011- > : Mumbai : Medknow
      Original Publication: New Delhi : Council Of Medical Research
    • Subject Terms:
      Health Behavior* ; Reproductive Health*; Child ; Female ; Humans ; India/epidemiology ; India/ethnology ; Self-Help Groups
    • Abstract:
      Background & Objectives: In the current health system, cash incentives are given to accredited social health activists for referring women to public health facilities for specific maternal and child health services, however many reproductive health problems are not included in these services. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of involvement of self-help groups (SHGs) in improving reproductive health seeking behaviour and service utilization by tribal women.
      Methods: An experimental study was conducted in two tribal blocks of Nasik district (Kalvan and Surgana) in Maharashtra, India, over a period of 18 months. Interventions included training of SHG women and providing incentives to them for conducting health education sessions for reproductive age group women in the community and referring those with the requisite problems, to the health facilities. Pre- and post-intervention focus group discussions and in-depth interviews among SHG women were conducted. Training of service providers on diagnosis and treatment of reproductive morbidities was done, and health service utilization was assessed.
      Results: Sixty five per cent of the referred women with reproductive morbidities availed services at the public health facilities. A review of records of women seeking services for reproductive health problems showed that there was a significant improvement in the intent for seeking services in the study block as compared to the control block (χ [2] -9.06, P<0.002).
      Interpretation & Conclusions: This study demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing the potential of SHGs for improving reproductive health seeking behaviour of the tribal women. The results suggest that this model could be scaled up to address the neglected reproductive health needs of women without burdening the existing human resources.
    • References:
      Indian J Med Res. 2015 Oct;142(4):479-88. (PMID: 26609041)
      Int J Womens Health. 2017 May 16;9:323-330. (PMID: 28553145)
      PLoS One. 2018 Aug 23;13(8):e0202562. (PMID: 30138397)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: Maharashtra; Nasik; self-help group; tribal; women
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20230111 Date Completed: 20230216 Latest Revision: 20230623
    • Publication Date:
      20231215
    • Accession Number:
      PMC10057364
    • Accession Number:
      10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1827_20
    • Accession Number:
      36629179