AM Foundation

Community health needs assessment

Partner/Client
AM Foundation

Sector
CSR Foundation

Location
Tamil Nadu

AM Foundation has a vision of delivering comprehensive and contextualised healthcare to local communities.
A needs assessment study was commissioned with the intent to identify health concerns of local communities and expand AM Foundation’s existing health interventions in the Chennai and Tiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu.
4th Wheel Social Impact undertook a rapid appraisal between November 2021 and February 2022, visiting communities and health facilities across 22 villages and 30 urban/suburban settlements around Chennai.

APPROACH

102 respondents participated in the study. These included Anganwadi workers, government officials, NGO representatives, health workers, medical officers, field nurses, school principals and teachers
The participatory appraisal drew on various qualitative methods for data collection, i.e.: semi-structured interviews, observations and transect walks, resource mapping templates, and checklists.
Vulnerability Analysis was done to identify 14 most vulnerable clusters from the 52 areas visited. All 52 areas were profiled and scored on demographics, infrastructure, water and sanitation, social service provisions and access to healthcare.
A health needs assessment tool was utilised to deep-dive into health issues, health facilities access and availability, and recommendations in the 14 clusters.
Structured health facility assessments were utilised to profile patient loads, service provision and infrastructure in these 14 vulnerable areas.
The findings were presented to various Indian and international NGO members, academicians, and AM Foundation to garner insights and pave the way for collaborations with AM Foundation to improve the healthcare landscape.

High prevalence of waterborne diseases, respiratory problems, skin allergies, anaemia, and malnutrition along with hypertension and diabetes was noted in the areas.
While health facilities were present in the vicinity of the vulnerable areas, multiple issues were observed in accessibility and service delivery and quality.
Limited doctors and overburdened staff owing to high patient loads in public health facilities, were human resource issues.
Most facilities had poor infrastructure and limited service offerings, owing to which people had to travel long distances to get appropriate healthcare.
Poor road conditions exacerbated these access challenges and nudged people to seek healthcare at private facilities, which was expensive.
These factors contributed towards attitudes of general neglect towards health issues.
Community knowledge around existing government health insurance schemes, which would serve to offset the healthcare costs, was very low.

Provision of specialised medical care and updated drugs and equipment at public healthcare facilities that had high patient loads, would help to mitigate the challenges around infrastructure and limited offerings.
By setting up more primary healthcare centres, increasing health mobile units, and using data and technology to strengthen patient tracking and referrals, healthcare could be made more accessible to the public.
Not only could mass-media, mid-media, and interpersonal communication (IPC) be used to influence individual practices and social norms around health and hygiene, these avenues could also be used to build public knowledge of existing government schemes.