The Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) program was launched by the Government of India in 2005 as a key component of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), now subsumed under the National Health Mission (NHM).
Get the full solved assignment PDF of MME-301/As-1 of 2024 session now.
ASHAs serve as community health workers, tasked with delivering essential healthcare services at the grassroots level. Their roles and responsibilities encompass a wide range of activities aimed at promoting maternal and child health, preventing disease, and improving access to healthcare services in rural and underserved areas. Here are the key roles and responsibilities of ASHAs:
1. **Community Mobilization and Awareness:**
– ASHAs play a crucial role in mobilizing and sensitizing communities about health issues, preventive measures, and available healthcare services.
– They conduct door-to-door visits, community meetings, and health education sessions to raise awareness about maternal and child health, family planning, immunization, nutrition, hygiene, and sanitation.
2. **Identifying and Registering Beneficiaries:**
– ASHAs identify and register pregnant women, newborns, and eligible couples in their respective areas of operation.
– They maintain records of households, births, deaths, pregnancies, and other health-related information to facilitate timely access to healthcare services.
3. **Antenatal and Postnatal Care:**
– ASHAs provide antenatal care (ANC) services by promoting early registration of pregnancies, encouraging ANC visits, and facilitating access to maternal healthcare services.
– They conduct home visits to monitor the health of pregnant women, provide counseling on nutrition, iron-folic acid supplementation, and birth preparedness, and encourage institutional deliveries.
– ASHAs also conduct postnatal home visits to assess the health of mothers and newborns, promote exclusive breastfeeding, and provide guidance on newborn care practices.
4. **Child Health and Immunization:**
– ASHAs promote child health by encouraging timely immunization, growth monitoring, and appropriate feeding practices.
– They mobilize caregivers to ensure that children receive all recommended vaccines under the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) and facilitate vaccination sessions in collaboration with healthcare facilities.
5. **Treatment of Common Illnesses:**
– ASHAs provide basic curative care for common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, and fever.
– They distribute oral rehydration solution (ORS), zinc tablets, and other essential medicines for the treatment of diarrhea, and refer severe cases to healthcare facilities for further management.
6. **Family Planning Services:**
– ASHAs promote family planning methods and contraceptive use by raising awareness, providing counseling, and facilitating access to family planning services.
– They distribute contraceptive pills, condoms, and other family planning commodities and assist couples in making informed choices about birth spacing and contraceptive methods.
7. **Monitoring and Reporting:**
– ASHAs collect and maintain accurate data on various health indicators, including immunization coverage, antenatal and postnatal care, family planning uptake, and disease prevalence.
– They report health-related information to higher-level health authorities and participate in monitoring and evaluation activities to assess program performance and impact.
8. **Referral and Linkages:**
– ASHAs facilitate timely referrals of pregnant women, newborns, and sick individuals to appropriate healthcare facilities for specialized care.
– They establish linkages between communities and healthcare providers to ensure continuity of care and follow-up for referred cases.
In summary, ASHAs play a multifaceted role in delivering primary healthcare services, promoting health awareness, and facilitating community participation in health initiatives. Their contributions are instrumental in improving maternal and child health outcomes, reducing morbidity and mortality, and strengthening the healthcare delivery system at the grassroots level.