Networking between community health programs: a team-work approach to improving health service provision (original) (raw)

Networking between community health programs: a case study outlining the effectiveness, barriers and enablers

BMC health services research, 2012

In India, since the 1990s, there has been a burgeoning of NGOs involved in providing primary health care. This has resulted in a complex NGO-Government interface which is difficult for lone NGOs to navigate. The Uttarakhand Cluster, India, links such small community health programs together to build NGO capacity, increase visibility and better link to the government schemes and the formal healthcare system. This research, undertaken between 1998 and 2011, aims to examine barriers and facilitators to such linking, or clustering, and the effectiveness of this clustering approach. Interviews, indicator surveys and participant observation were used to document the process and explore the enablers, the barriers and the effectiveness of networks improving community health. The analysis revealed that when activating, framing, mobilising and synthesizing the Uttarakhand Cluster, key brokers and network players were important in bridging between organisations. The ties (or relationships) tha...

Networks for public health

Background: Networking between non-government organisations in the health sector is recognised as an effective method of improving service delivery. The Uttarakhand Cluster was established in 2008 as a collaboration of community health programs in rural north India with the aim of building capacity, increasing visibility and improving linkages with the government. This qualitative research, conducted between 2011-2012, examined the factors contributing to formation and sustainability of this clustering approach. Methods: Annual focus group discussions, indicator surveys and participant observation were used to document and observe the factors involved in the formation and sustainability of an NGO network in North India.

Measuring coordination between women’s self-help groups and local health systems in rural India: a social network analysis

BMJ Open, 2019

ObjectivesTo assess how the health coordination and emergency referral networks between women’s self-help groups (SHGs) and local health systems have changed over the course of a 2-year learning phase of the Uttar Pradesh Community Mobilization Project, India.DesignA pretest, post-test programme evaluation using social network survey to analyse changes in network structure and connectivity between key individuals and groups.SettingThe study was conducted in 18 villages located in three districts in Uttar Pradesh, India.InterventionTo improve linkages and coordination between SHGs and government health providers by building capacity in leadership, management and community mobilisation skills of the SHG federation.ParticipantsA purposeful sampling that met inclusion criteria. 316 respondents at baseline and 280 respondents at endline, including SHG members, village-level and block-level government health workers, and other key members of the community (traditional birth attendants, dr...

GO-NGO Partnership: A Developmental Approach for Health Sector in Northeast India

IOSR Journals , 2019

During the Seventh Five Year plan, there was an affect of privatization in Indian economy. That influenced in most of the policies and programmes of India through involvement of government as well as NGOs. Involvement of NGOs has also been noticed since 1970s and 1980s with the different initiatives of people of around the world and that brought out an idea of government partnership with NGOs to promote all round development. This idea further affected the health sector that lead to arise of several private sector hospitals and clinics in different cities in India. During that period, government recognizes the NGOs strength and accepted their participation through the state government. It’s introduced NGOs as a complimentary to the government services that can even deliver health services to the masses. In the context of Northeast India, the development of rural areas as well as improvement of the condition of health is still in underneath. Therefore, the paper intends to highlight how an effective partnership between Government and NGOs can promote and boost up the health status of Northeast India.

Using social network analysis to plan, promote and monitor intersectoral collaboration for health in rural India

PLOS ONE

Background As population health and well-being are influenced by multiple factors that cut across sectoral boundaries, an intersectoral approach that acknowledges and leverages the multiple determinants, actors and sectors at play is increasingly seen as critical for achieving meaningful and lasting improvements. In this study, we utilize social network analysis (SNA) to characterize the intersectoral collaboration between the organizations working on maternal & child health (MCH) and water & sanitation (WASH) before and immediately after the implementation of HCL Foundation (HCLF)-funded HCL Samuday Project (2015-2017) in a rural block of Uttar Pradesh state, India. While SNA has been used to examine public health issues, few have used it monitor stakeholder relationships, intervene, improve and facilitate project implementation involving intersectoral partnerships, particularly in the context of a low-and middle-income countries. Method An organization-level SNA was conducted with 31 key informants from 24 organizations working on MCH and/or WASH in Kachhauna, Uttar Pradesh, India. Data were collected using face-to-face, semi-structured interviews between June and September 2017. Density, centrality and homophily were calculated to describe the network and a qualitative analysis was also conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of collaboration between organizations working on MCH and WASH. Results Overall, our findings showed that the network of organizations working on MCH and WASH in Kachhauna grew in number since the implementation of Samuday. HCLF rapidly achieved centrality, thus positioning the organization to serve as a gatekeeper of information and enabling it to play a coordinator role within the network. Direct collaboration between other organizations working on MCH and WASH was low at both time points. Interviews

Looking at the role of the Non-Governmental Organizations in primary health care field in India to meet the Millennium Development Goals.

In India, it was the 1970s which saw rapid growth in the formation of formally registered NGOs and the process continues to this day. Most NGOs have created their respective thematic, social group and geographical priorities such as poverty alleviation, community health, education, housing, human rights, child rights, women’s rights, natural resource management, water and sanitation; and to these ends they put to practice a wide range of strategies and approaches. Primarily, their focus has been on the search for alternatives to development thinking and practice; achieved through participatory research, community capacity building and creation of demonstrable models. When we review some of the work done by NGOs over the past 3 decades, we find that they have contributed greatly to nation building. Many NGOs have worked hard to include children with disability in schools, end caste-based stigma and discrimination, prevent child labour and promote gender equality resulting in women receiving equal wages for the same work compared to men. During natural calamities they have played an active role in relief and rehabilitation efforts, in particular, providing psycho-social care and support to the disaster affected children, women and men. NGOs have been instrumental in the formation and capacity building of farmers and producers’ cooperatives and women’s self-help groups. Recent years have seen a growing capacity of nongovernmental organizations to develop patterns of cooperation among themselves locally, nationally, and internationally, for consultation and exchange of information, or for joint action. In the area of Primary Health Care and Development NGOs can play pivotal roles in the two major developmental approaches as- 1. Integrated Human Development 2. Community Participation This study paper attempts to look at the Non-Government Organisation played and can continue to play in the area of development of primary health care in India with an integrated and combined approach to poverty and health, especially in the context of the Millenium Development Goals to improve the well being of the poor masses. Key words: Indian state and NGOs, scenario, NGOs in health field, in primary health care field, specific roles NGOs can play, summing up.

Whose Public Action? Analysing Inter-sectoral Collaboration for Service Delivery KARUNA TRUST AND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA: MANAGEMENT OF PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRES

2008

This case study focuses on the relationship between Karuna Trust, a Bangalore based NGO, and the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka. Karuna Trust has been almost exclusively working in the health care sector for the past two decades, with primary heath care as its core function. Over the years other related programmes like education and community development were integrated into the portfolio of Karuna Trust, although health continues to be the centre of focus. This report looks at the relationship between Karuna Trust and the Department of Health and Family Welfare through a partnership programme, wherein the former manages a selected list of government Primary Health-Care Centres (PHCs) in the State. A pioneer in the area, especially on a relatively wide scale, the model is attracting interest in some other States in the country. 1. BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY 1.1 Research Agenda This case study is part of a larger study on non-government public action and the relationship between the state and non-state providers (NSPs). The core argument of the research is that the government and NSPs involved in the delivery of specific services are conditioned by their respective organizational and institutional structure and policies. This in turn may lead to tensions over the very purpose and process of 'public action.' Further, the research hypothesizes that they manner in which the relationship is formally and informally organized also affects the capacity of partners to influence and control the service delivery agenda and process. Three service delivery sectors were identified for the research: sanitation, education and health sectors.