Informal healthcare providers of abortion services among three scheduled tribes of Jharkhand.

Background: There is a dominant role of informal healthcare providers (IHPs) in the current cultural and sociological context of tribal communities. They outnumber formal health-care providers, thus bridging the gap between existing and nonexisting public health facilities despite not having formal training or accreditation. Objectives: The study examines the role, relevance, and extent of abortion services provided by IHPs- in Jharkhand among three Scheduled Tribe groups. Materials and Methods: Based on in-depth interviews with 15 IHPs and 42 married women among three Scheduled Tribe groups in three districts of Jharkhand, a qualitative study was conducted. Interview guidelines addressed reasons for preferring IHP services, their scope of practice, dissemination, and quality of services. Results: The majority of women seeking abortions used traditional contraceptives, which often resulted in unwanted pregnancies. The economic, cultural, social, access to services, and confidence factors encouraged women to seek abortion services from IHPs. There were differences in the nature of access to abortion services among tribal groups. The Chero and Korwa tribes continued to rely heavily on simpler life technologies that shaped their beliefs and practices regarding reproduction. The Ho tribe, however, preferred to use the formal health-care system since they were close to a more complex society. Conclusion: IHP plays a significant role in the social structure of Tribes, demonstrating their marginalization in access to formal health-care services. Eventually, they replaced traditional healers with their function as physicians.

Of informal practitioners of biomedicine. The interplay of medicine, economy and society in India.

Instead of diminishing with the spectacular advancement of medical expertise in the country , unqualified biomedical practice in India has been strengthened by the growth of the pharmaceutical production in the twenty first century. In public health discourse, the view that the informal health practitioners have to be punished and abolished has been countered by the recommendation that they could be trained and incorporated in primary health care where public health amenities are inadequate. The quality of care provided by the informal health care practitioners has also been subject to clinical assessment based on standardized patient vignettes. Based on a sociological approach, this paper examines the time line of chronically ill patients under lived conditions to arrive at an understanding of the role of informal health practitioners in long term treatment and highlights the setbacks. METHODS: This paper draws on 253 household surveys from two villages in Madhya Pradesh, in depth interviews with four unqualified practitioners in the area, twenty five unstructured interviews of chronic patients, twenty five structured interviews on the cases of untimely death and FGDs with health workers in 2021. CONCLUSION: Informal health care practitioners offer consultation cum dispensing of medicines and are the primary source of biomedical care in the remote study area without any public transport. But they are 'for profit' economic actors who are ill-equipped to handle chronic diseases. What sets them aside from the qualified private doctors in the town is their social obligation to balance their profit motive with the ethics of proximity and neighborly ties with the villagers amidst whom they reside. These features of the market and community place the informal health care practitioners at the cusp of economy and society and defy simple binaries that they are either crooks or assets.

Marketing and Distribution System Foster Misuse of Antibiotics in the Community: Insights from Drugs Wholesalers in India.

Antibiotic misuse is one of the major drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In India, evidence of antibiotic misuse comes largely from retailers as well as formal and informal healthcare providers (IHCPs). This paper presents the practices and perspectives of drug wholesalers, a critical link between manufacturers and last-mile dispensers. Four experienced wholesalers and an ex-State Drug Controller (ex-SDC) were interviewed in depth, using semi-structured guides in the National Capital Region of Delhi, India, between November 2020 and January 2021. Four main findings were that wholesalers (i) have limited knowledge about wholesale licensing and practice regulations, as well as a limited understanding of AMR; (ii) directly supply and sell antibiotics to IHCPs; (iii) facilitate medical representatives (MRs) of pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers in their strategies to promote antibiotics use in the community; and (iv) blame other stakeholders for unlawful sale and overuse of antibiotics. Some of the potential solutions aimed at wholesalers include having a minimum education qualification for licensing and mandatory Good Distribution Practices certification programs. Decoupling incentives by pharmaceutical companies from sales targets to improve ethical sales practices for MRs and optimize antibiotic use by IHCPs could alleviate wholesalers' indirect actions in promoting antibiotic misuse.

Insights from national survey on household expenditure for primary healthcare services availed through informal healthcare providers.

INTRODUCTION: Ensuring accessible and affordable primary healthcare services of optimal quality is a core component of universal health coverage (UHC). Though a substantial percentage of population avail healthcare services from informal healthcare providers (IHPs) in rural India, the information regarding the extent of out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditure during such encounters is limited. METHOD: The study analyzed publicly available data of 75th National Sample Survey (NSS) to understand the household expenditure pattern on availing service from IHPs. OOP expenditure for services availed from IHPs were extracted from main data sets and analyzed for both out-patient care and hospitalization. The OOP was summarized across the five wealth quintiles based on monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE) and disease groupings derived from the ailments recorded during the survey. RESULTS: In total, 721 households accessed IHPs as part of out-patient consultation for infectious disease (67%). Households from rural areas (78%), households belonging to backward groups (75%), households from the poorest quintile and women (52%) access the services of IHPs. The median OOP for all services was INR 240 (IQR 120-600) and more than 90% of total OOP is accounted for medical expenditure. CONCLUSION: The programs need to define healthcare packages to engage IHPs to increase the reach and reduce OOP expenditure on households.

An assessment of Ebola-related stigma and its association with informal healthcare utilisation among Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: We examined the magnitude and correlates of Ebola virus disease (EVD)-related stigma among EVD survivors in Sierra Leone since their return to their communities. In addition, we determined whether EVD-related stigma is a predictor of informal health care use among EVD survivors. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 358 EVD survivors in five districts across all four geographic regions (Western Area, Northern Province, Eastern Province and Southern Province) of Sierra Leone. Ebola-related stigma was measured by adapting the validated HIV related stigma for people living with HIV/AIDS instrument. We also measured traditional and complementary medicine (T&CM) use (as a measure of informal healthcare use). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. RESULTS: EVD survivors report higher levels of internalised stigma (0.92 ± 0.77) compared to total enacted stigma (0.71 ± 0.61). Social isolation (0.96 ± 0.88) was the highest reported enacted stigma subscale. Ebola survivors who identified as Christians [AOR = 2.51, 95%CI: 1.15-5.49, p = 0.021], who perceived their health to be fair/poor [AOR = 2.58, 95%CI: 1.39-4.77. p = 0.003] and who reside in the northern region of Sierra Leone [AOR = 2.80, 95%CI: 1.29-6.07, p = 0.009] were more likely to experience internalised stigma. Verbal abuse [AOR = 1.95, 95%CI: 1.09-3.49, p = 0.025] and healthcare neglect [AOR = 2.35, 95%CI: 1.37-4.02, p = 0.002] were independent predictors of T&CM use among EVD survivors. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest EVD-related stigma (internalised and enacted) is prevalent among EVD survivors since their return to their communities. Religiosity, perceived health status and region were identified as independent predictors of internalised stigma. Verbal abuse and healthcare neglect predict informal healthcare use. EVD survivor-centred and community-driven anti-stigma programs are needed to promote EVD survivors' recovery and community re-integration.

Conditional cash transfers, spillovers, and informal health care: Evidence from Peru.

Conditional cash transfer programs have become instrumental in encouraging the use of formal health services in developing countries, but little is known about their effect on the use of low-quality informal care. Using a large survey of Peruvian rural households and a regression discontinuity design, we find a sizeable reduction in the use of informal health care providers not only by targeted but also by nontargeted members of households that qualify for the program. This indicates the existence of spillover effects within the household. We also provide evidence that beyond the direct increase in income, the availability of better information about institutional services is a potential mechanism that drives these effects.

Level, pattern, and determinants of polypharmacy and inappropriate use of medications by village doctors in a rural area of Bangladesh.

OBJECTIVE: Village doctors, informal health care providers practicing modern medicine, are dominant health care providers in rural Bangladesh. Given their role, it is important to examine their prescription pattern and inappropriate use of medication. METHODS: These cross-sectional study data were collected through surveys of patients seen by village doctors during 2008 and 2010 at Chakaria, a typical rural area of Bangladesh. Categorization of appropriate, inappropriate, and harmful prescriptions by disease conditions was based on guidelines defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the Government of Bangladesh. Analytical categorization of polypharmacy was defined when five or more medications were prescribed for a patient at a single visit. FINDINGS: A total of 2,587 prescriptions were written by village doctors during the survey periods. Among the prescriptions were appropriate (10%), inappropriate (8%), combination of appropriate and inappropriate (63%), and harmful medications (19%). Village doctors with more than high school education were 53% less likely (odds ratio [OR]: 0.47, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.86) to give polypharmacy prescriptions than those with less than high school education. While exploring determinants of prescribing inappropriate and harmful medications, this study found that polypharmacy prescriptions were six times more likely [OR: 6.00, 95% CI: 3.88-9.29] to have harmful medications than prescriptions with <5 medications. CONCLUSION: Village doctors' training and supervision may improve the quality of services and establish accountability for the benefit of the rural population.

El trabajo no remunerado de cuidado de la salud: naturalización e inequidad / O trabalho não remunerado de cuidado da saúde: naturalização e iniquidade / Unpaid care in health: naturalization and gender inequality

Gran parte del trabajo de cuidado de la salud-enfermedad se desarrolla en los hogares y tiene las características de ser femenino, no remunerado e inequitativo porque implica desigualdades de género en el reparto del tiempo, las actividades y las compensaciones. Para aportar a lasdiscusiones sobre la equidad sanitaria y la equidad de género, este ensayo busca controvertir los argumentos que definen las asimetrías de poder y posición que subyacen a las diferencias deroles entre hombres y mujeres sobre los cuales se apoyan muchas políticas y programas sociales que, basadas en la naturalización de las relaciones patriarcales y la división sexual del trabajo, contribuyen a mantener o profundizar las inequidades.

Health care often takes place at home. By acquiring feminine characteristics and connotations as an unpaid domestic activity, it implies gender discrimination in time distribution and its compensation for women. In order to contribute to the discussions in health and gender equality, this essay aims to reexamine power asymmetries and positions that emerge from the gender biased historical division of labor, where a significant amount of policies and social programs are based on naturalized patriarchal relations and this division of labor, a phenomenon that contributes to maintain or even deepen social inequalities.

Grande parte do trabalho de cuidado da saúde-doença desenvolve-se nos lares e tem características de ser feminino, não remunerado e díspar porque implica desigualdades de gênero na divisão do tempo, das atividades e as compensações. Para contribuir com as discussões sobre equidade sanitária e a equidade de gênero, este ensaio procurar controverter os argumentos quedefinem as assimetrias de poder e posição que subjazem as diferenças de papéis entre homens e mulheres sobre os quais se apoiam muitas políticas e programas sociais que, baseadas nanaturalização das relações patriarcais e a divisão sexual do trabalho, contribuem a manter ou aprofundar as iniquidades.