186 |
INFORMATION ON HEALTH FOR LAY PERSONS, ITS AVAILABILITY,
ACCESSIBILITY & ACCEPTABILITY AT THE GRASS ROOT LEVEL |
Sudha S Murthy: MLAI Bulletin 1990, 5, 53-60. |
Health is one of the basic rudiments for any activity
in life. Efficiency in health care depends on its awareness
among its users i.e., lay Persons,. While medical care, prophylaxis
and prevention form one aspect of the disease, awareness of it among
its users, their faith, belief and knowledge of the treatment given,
are the other important factors which are often ignored. Even though
75% of the population in India are covered by health care and a
significant contribution has been made in the last three to four
decades in raising health status of the population, prevalence of
communicable diseases and malnutrition still remain as major public
health problems. This may be attributed to lack of health consciousness
and health related factors such as social, economic, spiritual and
environmental among lay persons, as important reasons in prevention
of the disease. This paper briefly attempts to identify the lay
persons by grouping them to literates/illiterates, determining their
needs and wants, and its impact on health of the community. A review
of the availability of health related information, their
evaluation, selection and presentation using various communication
media such as literature, press, audio visuals, posters and graphics
is made. Finally, its acceptability by the lay persons at the grass
root level has been discussed by presenting a case on the disease
"Tuberculosis" and attempts made in this direction by
the National Tuberculosis Institute, Bangalore.
|
KEY WORDS: HEALTH INFORMATION, GRASS ROOT LEVEL,
FEASIBILITY, DISSEMINATION. |