Health equity research agenda for India : results of a consultative exercise

The article focuses on a programme in India to launch research that has health equity as a primary principle. Sixty researchers, civil society actors and policy-makers were invited to study gaps in research and to generate a list of broad areas, themes and research questions. An agenda was then consolidated through consultation with experts to identify priorities for the research programme. These are provided in a results section of the article. Health equity is defined as “unjust differences in health between persons of different social groups... [which] can be linked to disadvantages such as poverty, discrimination or lack of access to goods.

A study of user perspectives on the diaphragm in an urban Indian setting

This study attempted to examine user perspectives regarding the desirability of the diaphragm as a contraceptive method when included among other methods distributed freely through a family planning (FP) clinic. It sought to introduce on an experimental basis, the diaphragm into an ongoing and well-established FP clinic to increase contraceptive choice. This was primarily a qualitative study aimed at understanding women\u27s perceptions about the risks and benefits, the reasons for use of the diaphragm, and the practical difficulties of using it effectively. It also studied the influence of service delivery factors in acceptance of this method. The study was part of a larger project of the Gender, Reproductive Health, and Population Policies research program. Information dissemination on diaphragms and other contraceptive methods was part of a comprehensive community outreach program on reproductive health education. Based on the information provided and use of the diaphragm over a month women perceived the key advantages to be the absence of side effects and the facility of need-based use. In addition, as this report notes, the diaphragm answered the needs of women who wished to space as well those who wished to limit the number of children

Community knowledge on malaria among febrile patients in an endemic district of Orissa, India

Background & objectives: Evidence on the community knowledge and perceptions on malaria are crucial todesign appropriate health communication strategies for malaria control. Orissa, an Indian state with a largeproportion of indigenous populations and hilly terrains contributes to the highest malaria burden in India. Astudy was undertaken to assess the knowledge on malaria among community members who had experiencedfever and chills in the endemic district of Boudh in Orissa.Methods: A cross-sectional community-based survey was carried out with respondents (n=300) who had feverwith chills within two weeks prior to data collection through a multi-stage sampling and interviewed themusing a pre-tested, structured interview schedule.Results : About 90% of respondents recognized fever as a common symptom of malaria, 72.3% said mosquitobites cause malaria, 70.3% of respondents reported mosquito control and personal protection to be the methodof malaria prevention, and 24.6% identified chloroquine as the drug used for treatment. Women and scheduledtribe (ST) respondents were found to have lower level of appropriate knowledge of causes, symptoms, andprevention methods of malaria than their counterparts.Interpretation & conclusion: The study population had a fair knowledge of malaria about the causes, symptoms,treatment, modes of prevention and outcomes of non-treatment compared to most of the studies conducted insimilar settings. However, the relatively low awareness among women and tribal population calls for morecontext specific communication strategies. Such strategies should be based on information needs assessment ofdifferent population subgroups, especially of women and members of the ST community, using media that isaccessible and clearly understood by different groups