Problem Statement
More than two-thirds of Indians live in villages, but the healthcare facilities in these areas are yet to show the progress seen in urban areas. The chances of you going to a rural health facility without a doctor or a health professional is still very high in the country. The analysis of the data available with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare tells us that things are way worse than they used to be 17 years ago, in 2005.
As per Rural Health Statistics, 2014, there is a shortfall of 36346 Sub Health Centres (SCs), 6700 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and 2350 Community Health Centres (CHCs) against the specified population norm.
As per Rural Health Statistics Bulletin (RHS) 2014, a total of 2225 (8.89%) Primary Health Centres (PHCs) are functioning without doctor, 9825 (39.26%) PHCs without Lab Technician and 5739 (22.94%) PHCs without a pharmacist in the country.
In 2022, nearly 69% of the country’s residents lived in rural areas, along with 67% of all households, whereas a 35.9% of urban population. Considering the differences in the population percentage of rural and urban areas, the healthcare services in rural areas need to be addressed to ensure that rural communities have access to medical facilities and resources. The COVID-19 pandemic also has highlighted many of the challenges faced by rural healthcare systems and why they need attention moving forward.
Problem Justification
Limited resources
Rural areas often have limited resources and healthcare facilities. Many rural communities lack adequate hospitals, clinics, and medical personnel. This means that people in rural areas may have to travel long distances to receive medical care, which can be especially challenging during a pandemic.
Increased healthcare needs
The pandemic has led to increased healthcare needs across the board, and rural communities are no exception. In fact, rural communities may be even more vulnerable to the pandemic due to a lack of access to healthcare and other resources.
Higher risk populations
Rural communities often have higher populations of older adults and people with underlying health conditions, which put them at a higher risk for severe illness and death from COVID-19.
Economic challenges
Rural areas have been hard hit by the economic impacts of the pandemic, with many people losing their jobs or experiencing reduced hours. This can make it even more difficult for people in rural areas to access healthcare, especially if they can't afford to travel long distances or pay for medical care.
Mental health
The pandemic has also taken a toll on people's mental health, and this is especially true for people in rural areas. The isolation and lack of access to mental health services in rural areas can exacerbate mental health issues.
Awareness
Health knowledge awareness of rural residents was quite low and the way of receiving health knowledge was simple and traditional. One of the critical factors was education level. Direct results showed that lower income families always obtained higher health knowledge level than the rich families.
Distance, Transportation & Internet
Geographic access is another rural healthcare access barrier. Sparsely populated areas result in longer travel distances to access healthcare. The travel burden is amplified by the road conditions, the terrain and the weather. The distance-to-provider is also affected by the ability of the rural residents to secure transportation. Socioeconomic factors limit the access to reliable private transportation and most rural communities luck adequate public transportation making accessing healthcare very difficult.