Although the traumatic phase
of Covid-19 pandemic is almost over, yet it is disturbing to find that a large
population of the country is suffering either from one or more communicable or
non-communicable diseases. Data, in fact, suggest that non-communicable
diseases are fast taking a greater number of people into its grip. The ever
growing number of patients of Cancer, CVD, Diabetes, Liver and Kidney ailment
vindicates this point.
We all know that the cost
involved in disease prevention is far less than that of curative treatment.
Putting more emphasis on prevention also suits our country in the light of a
huge population, scarcity of funds and existing poor medical facilities in most
of the state-run hospitals besides huge shortage of doctors, nurses and
paramedical staff. The cost of modern medical treatment is also
unreasonably high and so quite unaffordable for many, notwithstanding Central
Government’s initiative under Aayushman Bharat Yojana for
disadvantaged sections of society. As such, the only way to protect the common
people from falling sick frequently and to keep them healthy is to strengthen,
improve and speed-up community healthcare initiatives.
In today’s world of
Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization Community Healthcare is
of great significance, particularly for our country, as it is focused on health
promotion and disease prevention of the community. It is also a major field of
study within the medical and clinical sciences which focuses on the
maintenance, protection and improvement of the health status of community
members and different population groups in the society.
Simply speaking, community
healthcare refers to meeting the needs of a defined group of people or a
community by identifying their health related problems and managing the
well-being of community members. Those individuals, who make up a community,
live in a somewhat localized area. To say, keeping in view the health status of
the people living in a particular village or town and initiating suitable
actions to protect and improve their health is normally termed as community
healthcare.
The success of community
healthcare programmes relies upon the transfer of information from health
professionals to common masses using one-to-one or one to many communication.
Undoubtedly, the role of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) and ANM
(Auxiliary Nursing Midwife) who function as community health workers
is extremely vital in this regard. Making Primary Health Centres (PHCs)
now renamed as Wellness Centres fully functional 24x7 with all necessary
infrastructures is equally important.
It is all knowing that drinking
water and sanitation are two very critical determinants of health, which can
ensure reduction of more than 60% cases of communicable diseases in particular. As
such, making available the facility of water supply and sanitation in both
rural and urban areas alike is a prerequisite for successful implementation of
community healthcare schemes. Undeniably, some headway on these fronts are
visible on the ground, but the collective efforts of both central as well as
state governments must be speeded up in this direction for ensuring far better
results in coming months.
To put it very precisely, it
is the bounden duty and responsibility of policy makers and community leaders
to plan health strategies that enhance the health at different geographical
areas having equal opportunities of healthcare facilities and matching services
to all members. As health is a state subject, the ministry of
health and family welfare needs to form stronger partnerships with other
stakeholders involved in this task and impress upon them to work in a concerted
manner within a time frame for better and sustainable results at the ground
level. It is noteworthy that few states including Kerala have been
performing well in this area by adopting a holistic and consistent
approach.
As rightly said, ‘Awareness
is half the solution’ and ‘Prevention is better than cure’, it is very
important to focus significantly on aspects of Health Awareness and Motivation
through all routes including schools, colleges, community centres etc. for
speedier and more cost-effective outcomes. Needless to emphasise that
proactive measures by all community healthcare personnel would definitely go a
long way in keeping the common people, more particularly children, ladies and
old persons disease free to a great extent.
As always, I'm keen to know what you think on this subject. Hence, request you to post comments to share your views and experiences.
(hellomilansinha@gmail.com)
# Published in "Morning India" daily.
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