State Of Healthcare In Rural India 2024:
The “State of Healthcare in Rural India, 2024” report was released by NGO Transform Rural India and Development Intelligence Unit.
- The survey covered 21 States including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nādu, and Uttar Pradesh.
- The sample achieved included 52.5% male respondents and 47.5% female respondents.
Key Highlights of the Report:
- Only about 50% of rural households in the country have government health insurance, while 34% lack any health insurance coverage at all.
- 61% of surveyed households do not have life insurance.
- It revealed that there is a lack of diagnostic facilities in the rural areas mostly because of shortage of trained personnel.
- Only 39% of respondents have access to a diagnostic facility within commutable distance.
- 90% of respondents do not undergo routine health checkups unless recommended by a doctor.
- Only 12.2% of households have access to subsidised medicines from Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Kendras.
- Only 26% respondents had access to a government medical store located within the premises of a health facility that provides free medicines.
- 61% have access to a private medical store within commutable distance.
- 20% of the households reported no drainage system in their villages and only 23% had a covered drainage network system in their villages.
- 43% of households did not have any scientific system of waste disposal and they ended up with dumping their waste everywhere.
- Only 11% burn the dry waste and convert their wet waste into compost, while 28% reported that the local panchayat has made plans to collect household waste.
- 73% of the households with elderly members need constant care and the majority (95.7%) prefer family caregivers, predominantly female (72.1%), highlighting the need for caregiver training on home-based care.
- Only 3% of households have engaged in paid external caregivers.
- 10% rely on neighbourhood support in the absence of family caregivers.
- Majority of caregivers for pregnant women include husbands (62.7%), mothers-in-law (50%), and mothers (36.4%).
- The report emphasises the need for strong social networks, supportive environments, and capacity building for family caregivers.
- 45% of the respondents across gender most of the time have anxiety and worry that impacts their state of mind.
- Anxiety and worry impact mental health much more among the older population than the younger ones.
