Social Determinants of Reproductive and Child Health

Abstract

Improvement in the health status of the population has been one of the major thrust areas for the social development programmes of the country. This was to be achieved through improving the access to and utilization of health services with special focus on under-served and underprivileged segments of the population. Over the last decades, India has built up a vast health infrastructure and manpower at primary, secondary and tertiary care in Government, voluntary and private sectors. The extent of access to and utilization of health care varied substantially between states, districts and different segments of society; this to a large extent, is responsible for substantially differences between states in health indices of the population. Traditionally, health service (both government and private) was perceived as a social responsibility albeit a paid one. Growing commercialization of health care and medical education over the last two decades has eroded this commitment, adversely affecting the quality of care, trust and the rapport between health care seekers and providers. Social factors and determinants have great influence on accessibility and utilization of heath care services health care services. Against this backdrop, present paper attempts to examine social determinants and performance of RCH programme in India. The paper is based mainly on secondary data and pertinent literature.