Health in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Healthcare in India)
Jump to: navigation, search
AIIMS' students educating slum dwellers in Delhi about mosquito-borne diseases.

India has a universal health care system run by the constituent states and territories of India. The Constitution charges every state with "raising the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties". The National Health Policy was endorsed by the Parliament of India in 1983 and updated in 2002.[1]

Parallel to the public health sector, and indeed more popular than it, is the private medical sector in India. Both urban and rural Indian households tend to use the private medical sector more frequently than the public sector, as reflected in surveys.[2]

India has a life expectancy of 64/67 years (m/f), and an infant mortality rate of 61 per 1000 live births.[3]

Contents

Health issues [edit]

Malnutrition [edit]

42% of India’s children below the age of three are malnourished, which is greater than the statistics of sub-Saharan African region of 28%.[4] Although India’s economy grew 50% from 2001–2006, its child-malnutrition rate only dropped 1%, lagging behind countries of similar growth rate.[5] Malnutrition impedes the social and cognitive development of a child, reducing his educational attainment and income as an adult.[5] These irreversible damages result in lower productivity.[5]

High infant mortality rate [edit]

Approximately 1.72 million children die each year before turning one.[6] The under five mortality and infant mortality rates have been declining, from 202 and 190 deaths per thousand live births respectively in 1970 to 64 and 50 deaths per thousand live births in 2009.[6][7] However, this rate of decline is slowing. Reduced funding for immunization leaves only 43.5% of the young fully immunized.[5] A study conducted by the Future Health Systems Consortium in Murshidabad, West Bengal indicates that barriers to immunization coverage are adverse geographic location, absent or inadequately trained health workers and low perceived need for immunization.[8] Infrastructure like hospitals, roads, water and sanitation are lacking in rural areas.[9] Shortages of healthcare providers, poor intra-partum and newborn care, diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections also contribute to the high infant mortality rate.[6]

Diseases [edit]

Diseases such as dengue fever, hepatitis, tuberculosis, malaria and pneumonia continue to plague India due to increased resistance to drugs.[10] In 2011, India developed a totally drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.[11] India is ranked 3rd highest among countries with a high rate of HIV-infected persons.[12] Diarrheal diseases are the primary causes of early childhood mortality.[13] These diseases can be attributed to poor sanitation and inadequate safe drinking water in India.[14]India also has the world's highest incidence of Rabies.

However in 2012 India was polio-free for the first time in its history.[15] This was achieved because of the Pulse Polio Programme started in 1995-96 by the government of India .[16]

Indians are also at particularly high risk for atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. This may be attributed to a genetic predisposition to metabolic syndrome and adverse changes in coronary artery vasodilation. NGOs such as the Indian Heart Foundation and the Medwin Foundation have been created to raise awareness of this public health issue.[17][18]

Poor sanitation [edit]

As more than 122 million households have no toilets, and 33% lack access to latrines, over 50% of the population (638 million) defecate in the open.[19] This is relatively higher than Bangladesh and Brazil (7%) and China (4%).[19] Although 211 million people gained access to improved sanitation from 1990–2008, only 31% use the facilities provided.[19] Only 11% of Indian rural families dispose of stools safely whereas 80% of the population leave their stools in the open or throw them in the garbage.[19] Open air defecation leads to the spread of disease and malnutrition through parasitic and bacterial infections.[20]

Inadequate safe drinking water [edit]

See also: Water supply and sanitation in India

Access to protected sources of drinking water has improved from 68% of the population in 1990 to 88% in 2008.[19] However, only 26% of the slum population has access to safe drinking water,[20] and 25% of the total population has drinking water on their premises.[19] This problem is exacerbated by falling levels of groundwater caused mainly by increasing extraction for irrigation.[19] Insufficient maintenance of the environment around water sources, groundwater pollution, excessive arsenic and fluoride in drinking water pose a major threat to India's health.[19]

Female health issues [edit]

Main article: Women's health in India

Women's health in India involves numerous issues. Some of them include the following:

  • Malnutrition : The main cause of female malnutrition in India is the tradition requiring women to eat last, even during pregnancy and when they are lactating.[21]
  • Breast Cancer : One of the most severe and increasing problems among women in India, resulting in higher mortality rates.
  • Stroke
  • Polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD) : PCOD increases the infertility rate in females. This condition causes many small cysts to form in the ovaries, which can negatively affect a woman's ability to conceive.
  • Maternal Mortality : Indian maternal mortality rates in rural areas are among the highest in the world.[21]

Rural health [edit]

Rural India contains over 68% of India's total population with half living below the poverty line, struggling for better and easy access to health care and services.[22] Health issues confronted by rural people are many and diverse – from severe malaria to uncontrolled diabetes, from a badly infected wound to cancer.[23] Postpartum maternal illness is a serious problem in resource-poor settings and contributes to maternal mortality, particularly in rural India.[24] A study conducted in 2009 found that 43.9% of mothers reported they experienced postpartum illnesses six weeks after delivery.[25] Rural medical practitioners are highly sought after by people living in rural India as they are more financially affordable and geographically accessible than practitioners working in the formal public health care sector.[26]

Health care system [edit]

Public and private sector [edit]

According to National Family Health Survey-3, the private medical sector remains the primary source of health care for 70% of households in urban areas and 63% of households in rural areas.[2] Reliance on public and private health care sector varies significantly between states. Several reasons are cited for relying on private rather than public sector; the main reason at the national level is poor quality of care in the public sector, with more than 57% of households pointing to this as the reason for a preference for private heath care.[2] Other major reasons are distance of the public sector facility, long wait times, and inconvenient hours of operation.[2]

National Rural Health Mission [edit]

A community health center in Kerala.

The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) was launched in April 2005 by the Government of India. The goal of the NRHM was to provide effective healthcare to rural people with a focus on 18 states which have poor public health indicators and/or weak infrastructure.[27]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Jugal Kishore (2005). National health programs of India: national policies & legislations related to health. Century Publications. ISBN 978-81-88132-13-3. Retrieved 2 September 2012. 
  2. ^ a b c d International Institute for Population Sciences and Macro International (September 2007). "National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06" (PDF). Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. pp. 436–440. Retrieved 5 October 2012. 
  3. ^ http://www.who.int/countries/ind/en/
  4. ^ Rieff, David (11 October 2009). "India’s Malnutrition Dilemma". Source: The New York Times 2009. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  5. ^ a b c d Robinson, Simon (1 May 2008). "India’s Medical Emergency". Source: Time US. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  6. ^ a b c "Childhood Mortality and Health in India". Source: Institute of Economic Growth University of Delhi Enclave North Campus India by Suresh Sharma. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  7. ^ "Maternal & Child Mortality and Total Fertility Rates". Retrieved 2012-02-13. 
  8. ^ Kanjilal, Barun; Debjani Barman, Swadhin Mondal, Sneha Singh, Moumita Mukherjee, Arnab Mandal, Nilanjan Bhor (September 2008). "Barriers to access immunization services: a study in Murshidabad, West Bengal". FHS Research Brief (3). 
  9. ^ "Medical and Healthcare Facility Plagued". Source: Abhinandan S, Dr Ramadoss. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  10. ^ "Dengue". Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention US. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  11. ^ Goldwert, Lindsay. "‘Totally drug-resistant’ tuberculosis reported in India; 12 patients have not responded to TB medication." New York Daily News 16 January 2012.
  12. ^ "HIV/AIDS". Source: UNICEF India. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  13. ^ "Life Expectancy and Mortality in India". Source: The Prajnopaya Foundation. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  14. ^ "Health Conditions". Source: US Library of Congress. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  15. ^ "India marks one year since last polio case." Al Jazeera, 13 January 2012.
  16. ^ http://india.gov.in/spotlight/spotlight_archive.php?id=90
  17. ^ Heart Disease is preventable. Indian Heart Foundation. Retrieved on 2012-07-17.
  18. ^ :: Prevent India 2012 – 26 Feb ::. Preventindia.org. Retrieved on 2012-07-17.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h "Water, Environment and Sanitation". Source: UNICEF India. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  20. ^ a b "Initiatives: Hygiene and Sanitation". Source: Sangam Unity in Action. Retrieved 2011-09-20. 
  21. ^ a b "Chronic hunger and the status of women in India". 
  22. ^ Urban Rural Population of India. Indiafacts.in. Retrieved on 2012-07-17.
  23. ^ JSS – The Bitter Truth About Rural Health. Jssbilaspur.org. Retrieved on 2012-07-17.
  24. ^ Sutherland, T; DM Bishai (2008). "Cost-Effectiveness Of Misoprostol And Prenatal Iron Supplementation As Maternal Mortality Interventions In Home Births In Rural India". Int J of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Retrieved 26 May 2012. 
  25. ^ Tuddenham, S A; et al (February 2010). "Care seeking for postpartum morbidities in Murshidabad, rural India". Int J of Gynecology and Obstetrics 109 (3): 245–246. doi:10.1016/j.ijgo.2010.01.016. Retrieved 26 May 2012. 
  26. ^ Kanjilal, B; et al (June 2007). "A Parallel Health Care market: Rural Medical Practitioners in West Bengal, India". FHS Research Brief 02. Retrieved 30 May 2012. 
  27. ^ Umesh Kapil and Panna Choudhury National Rural Health Mission (NRHM): Will it Make a Difference? Indian Pediatrics Vol. 42 (2005): 783

External links [edit]

Health in Asia
Sovereign
states
States with limited
recognition
Dependencies and
other territories
 India topics
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Health_in_India&oldid=554843654"