Developing a Public Health Cadre in 21st Century India: Addressing Gaps in Technical, Administrative and Social Dimensions of Public Health Services.

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a possible framework for designing a public health cadre in the present context, with lessons from health services development of the last six decades. Three major gaps that the public health cadre is meant to bridge have been identifi ed. These are capacities within the system to address the technical requirements (epidemiological and health systems analysis); administrative/managerial dimensions; and the social determinants of health. Therefore, it argues that the cadre must not only have a techno-managerial structure, but also create a specifi c sub-cadre for the social determinants of health.