"We are working for seven days a week" :Time motion study of accredited social health activists from central India

Ruchita Ramesh Khandre; Arjun Jakasania; Abhishek Raut

doi:10.1016/j.mjafi.2022.03.008

"We are working for seven days a week" :Time motion study of accredited social health activists from central India

Med J Armed Forces India. 2023 Dec;79(Suppl 1):S142-S149. doi: 10.1016/j.mjafi.2022.03.008. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

Authors

Ruchita Ramesh Khandre¹, Arjun Jakasania², Abhishek Raut³

Affiliations

¹ Post-Graduate student (Community Medicine), Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sewagram, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
² Assistant Professor (Community Medicine), Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sewagram, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.
³ Professor (Community Medicine), Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Sewagram, Wardha, Maharashtra, India.

Abstract

Background: The role of Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) the key worker is primely surrounded to be mainly a link-worker or facilitator, a community health worker, and a social activist under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). This study was conducted to study the workload and work pattern of ASHAs and identify the causes for improving work.

Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study conducted using a time-motion study as the tool among seventeen ASHAs from two primary health centers (PHC) in central India for four months. An ASHA's work pattern and workload were studied by constructing a 24-h recall. An focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted with the ASHAs to identify the factors affecting their effective functioning, after which content analysis was done.

Result: It was observed that activities under National programs consumed most of the time of ASHAs, followed by Maternal-Child Health (MCH) activities and Register maintenance. There was no homogenous work distribution among ASHAs. In content analysis, 30 concepts were categorized into four themes (responses from villages- an important drive, work pressure, survey a double-edged sword, demands of ASHAs).

Conclusion: We conclude that the ASHAs are overburdened, and hence, not effectively utilizing their role as social activists. Clarity about job responsibilities, training, support, and coordination among seniors, frontiers trust-building can improve their work efficiency.

Keywords: Accredited social health activist; Time-motion; Work efficiency; Work pattern.