NRHM and IPHS Standards in Primary Health Care
V Srinath and R Veena
Institute of Health Management Research, Bangalore.
Abstract—Primary Health Centers are the cornerstone of rural health services- a first port of call to a qualified doctor of the public sector in rural areas for the sick and those who directly report or referred from Sub-centers for curative, preventive and promotive health care. The overall objective of it is to provide health care that is quality Oriented and sensitive to the needs of the community. The main objective of this study is to assess the compliance of PHCs according to the IPHS. A sample of 5 PHCs was randomly selected from a frame of 31 in Bangalore urban district. Both quantitative data using the IPHS survey tool and qualitative data through Key Informant Interview (KII) were collected. There were great variations between the PHCs in terms of manpower, and less variation for drugs and supplies. The medical doctors in the PHCs were not aware of the IPHS. Interviewees opined that insufficient human resources need to be addressed and adequate number of equipments in working condition needs to be provided for better care. The respondents favored the standards, which increased the patient inflow by improving the quality of care. Introduction of the IPHS for PHCs is an important factor in the improvement of the quality services provided. But the introduction of standards and norms alone cannot change or improve the facility and the services provided. There need to be the identification of gaps for the targeted approach to be implemented. The issue of the functionality of human resources should be taken in to account seriously and alternatives designed for addressing the staff shortages.
Index Terms—Primary Health Care, IPHS, NRHM, Quality
Cite: V Srinath and R Veena, "NRHM and IPHS Standards in Primary Health Care," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 206-216, October 2012.