ABSTRACT
Background: Job satisfaction of accredited social health activist (ASHA), a voluntary health worker under national health mission, is not yet documented in many areas of the country. The present study assessed the job satisfaction of ASHA in Bhatar community development block of Purba Bardhaman district, West Bengal.Methods: A cross sectional study was undertaken during September–November 2017 among all the 191 ASHAs in Bhatar block. With prior consent, interviews were conducted using a questionnaire developed based on measures of job satisfaction (MJS) tool. The questionnaire contained total 28 items in six individual facets of satisfaction-personal component, workload, professional support, training, incentive and care providing. Responses for each item were recorded in 3-point Likert’s scale, total score ranging from 28–84. Overall satisfaction was categorised as dissatisfied (score=28), neutral (29-56) and satisfied (57-84) and similar categorisation was done for individual facets. Chi square test was applied to determine associated factors.Results: Overall 93.7% ASHAs were satisfied with their work, 6.3% were neither dissatisfied nor satisfied. Majority were satisfied regarding individual facets except incentive; 73.3% were rather dissatisfied. Overall satisfaction was significantly associated with the service duration of ASHA (p=0.001).Conclusions: Overall satisfaction level among ASHAs in the area though are quite high, some individual aspects like incentives needs to be looked into. Further studies will be helpful to delineate many unexplored reasons or aspects which might be necessary for developing strategies.
ABSTRACT
Iodine deficiency is endemic in West Bengal as evident from earlier studies. This community-based, crosssectional descriptive study was conducted in North 24 Parganas district during August-November 2005 to assess the consumption of adequately-iodized salt and to ascertain the various factors that influence access to iodized salt. In total, 506 households selected using the multi-stage cluster-sampling technique and all 79 retail shops from where the study households buy salt were surveyed. The iodine content of salt was tested by spot iodine-testing kits. Seventy-three percent of the households consumed salt with adequate iodine content (≥15 ppm). Consumption of adequately-iodized salt was lower among rural residents [prevalence ratio (PR): 0.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-0.9], Muslims (PR: 0.8, 95% CI 0.7-0.9), and households with monthly per-capita income of ≤US$ 10 (PR: 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.8). Those who heard and were aware of the risk of iodine-deficiency disorders and of the benefit of iodized salt were more likely to use appropriate salt (PR: 1.2, 95% CI 1.1-1.3). Those who were aware of the ban on non-iodized salt were more likely to consume adequately-iodized salt (PR: 1.1, 95% CI 1.01-1.3). The iodine content was higher in salt sold in sealed packets (PR: 2.9, 95% CI 1.8-4.8) and stored on shelves (PR: 1.6, 95% CI 1.3-2.0). Seventy-two percent of the salt samples from the retail shops had the iodine content of ≥15 ppm. The findings indicate that elimination of iodine deficiency will require targeting the vulnerable and poor population.