Preventive health programmes are focused on otherwise healthy people. (CDC Global/Flickr) / Picture from DOWN TO EARTH
DOWN TO EARTH | SWATI SAXENA | DECEMBER 16 2015
Health practitioners have come to realise that the top-down approach has not yielded desired results in the development paradigm. They are now restructuring social and development practices to create a sense of ownership in the target community to the programme. This has meant significant involvement of the community for design and delivery. Special care has been taken by programme designers to include more vulnerable sections of the society.
In case of healthcare delivery interventions, the focus on involving the community has been even more evident. This is partly because the success of a health programmes depends largely on its acceptance by the people.
New insights in healthcare
Preventive health programmes like immunisations are aimed at the entire population and are focused on otherwise healthy people. Thus, the onus of making these programmes a success shifts from people to provider, as healthy people have no immediate need for seeking out health services. Compulsory measures have often backfired, causing a shift to communication and education to increase reception of the programme. Volunteers drawn...continue reading
