Improving access to quality NCD care in Bengaluru

Urban Health Action Research Project (UHARP) team has been working in KG Halli since 2009 with the aim to improve access to quality health care for the residents of KG Halli by working with the community, public and private health providers and the higher authority. The team started working in the area by conducting a census in ward no 30, KG Halli, to understand the socio-demographic and economic status of the community as well as the illness profile, health seeking behaviour of patients in the area. After completing the survey of 9,299 house holds, four women were trained to work in the area as community health assistants. Also team coordinated few rounds of meeting with providers in the area to explore options of collaboration for referral and improve quality of care and reduce cost of care.
Since 2013, considering the learning’s till then, the UHARP currently focuses on non communicable diseases (NCD) with the aim of improving access to quality diabetes and Hypertension care for the residents of ward 30, KG Halli, Bengaluru. Major activities are creating awareness in the community about management of illness, strengthening public health centre, introducing patient retained medical record and coordinating to make low cost quality medicines available in the area to reduce cost of care and improve adherence to medications.
The study is of six years duration. It commenced in 2009 and will continue until 2016.
Aim:
To improve access to quality non communicable disease care for the residents of ward 30, Kadugondanahalli (KG Halli), Bengaluru.
Objectives :
- To improve affordability and adherence to common chronic conditions by facilitating provision of low cost and rational facility based primary care service
- To promote chronic disease management through promotive, preventive and curative care
- To strengthen the community health centre services availability by provision of training and motivational visits
- To promote use of patient retained health card and strengthen referral system
Action Research conducted in Kadugondanahalli, Bengaluru.
Baseline census of ward number 30, KG Halli was conducted between 2009-2010, using structured questionnaire to capture socio demographic details, illness profile, health seeking behaviour and cost of care. Following that midline survey was conducted using the same structured questionnaire in 2013 to compare the difference over three period and end line survey will be conducted in 2016 to assess the impact of intervention and compare the data over six years.
Data about awareness about diabetes and hypertension, generic medicine and other information will be collected using structured questionnaire with few open ended questions by community health assistants during home visits. The retained medical record booklet has been given to the individuals reported to behaving diabetes or hypertension or both as part of the project activity. A qualitative study will be conducted to understand the effectiveness of this initiative.
Duration of project
2009 – 2016
Study Team

Dr Thriveni BS
Team Lead

Leelavathi
Community Health Assistant

Dr Mrunalini G
Project coordinator

Tabassum
Community Health Assistant

Nagarathna
Community Health Assistant
Gallery
Video Documentation
Study outputs
Blog
Reflections from the field
Another day of immense learning and many unanswered questions in mind!!! My brief today in KG Halli as part of the urban health team was to help one of my colleagues, unravel the tangle she found herself in……this time thanks to our training and interventions in the...
A powerful experience!!!
IPH’s urban health team has begun the training of community health workers. This is a three month training. Classroom sessions will be three days a week alternated with field exercises. The objective of the training is to prepare community members to become community...
Publications
Lifestyle diseases on the rise among urban poor: Study by Mrunalini Gowda
Mrunalini J Gowda: The rising burden of chronic conditions among urban poor: a three-year follow-up survey in Bengaluru, India
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Upendra Bhojani et.al,. Constraints faced by urban poor in managing diabetes care: patients’ perspectives from South India.
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Upendra Bhojani et.al,. No longer diseases of the wealthy: prevalence and health-seeking for self-reported chronic conditions among urban poor in Southern India.
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B.S. Thriveni et.al.,Health system challenges in delivering maternal health care: Evidence from poor urban neighbourhood in South India.
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Upendra Bhojani et.al,.Challenges in organizing quality diabetes care for the urban poor : a local health perspective
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Upendra Bhojani et.al.,Out-of-pocket healthcare payments on chronic conditions impoverish urban poor in Bangalore, India
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Upendra Bhojani et.al.,Health system obstacles in the delivery of quality care to People with Chronic Diseases (PWCD): a case study from urban India.
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Understanding factors at household level affecting access to diabetes care: Study from urban south India
Controlled lives:Impact of social factors on reproductive rights of women in Urban South India
Posters
Case note-|| Youth as change agents|| written by Intern at IPH
Oral presentation at the Annual Conference of Be-cause Health, 28th November 2013, Brussels, Belgium.
Thriveni BS, et al., Integrated or fragmented health care? Experiences from an Action Research Project in an urban poor neighbourhood in Bangalore.
Poster presentation at the Geneva Health Forum 18-20 April 2012, Geneva Switzerland
Thriveni BS, et al., Understanding lack of access to diabetes care: A patient perspective from urban South India.
Poster presented at the 7th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health, 3-6 October 2011, Barcelona, Spain
Thriveni BS, et al. Controlled lives: Impact of social factors on reproductive rights of women in urban South India.
Poster presented at the 7th European Congress on Tropical Medicine and International Health, 3-6 October 2011, Barcelona, Spain
Bhojani UM, et al., Health system obstacles in the delivery of quality care to People With Chronic Diseases (PWCD): a case study from urban India
Health Systems Symposium, Cape Town, South Africa. October 2014.
Bhargav et al., A teenage single mother and community health worker: an urban story.
Poster Presented at International conference on urban health ( ICUH) 2015 at Dhaka , Bangladesh May 2015
Disintegrated public maternal health services: Experience from urban poor neighbourhood in India.