ARSH 7: Community Adolescent Health Care and Education: Experience of an Innovative Approach

Abstract

The main objective of the project was to create a community adolescent health care and education initiative with an innovative approach of educating all community stakeholders involved in promoting adolescent health. Step 1: Conceptualization and strategy planning for combined training; Step II: Preparation of teaching module, flip charts and pamphlets in local language; Step III: Hands on training of community trainers; Step IV: Sensitization of the stakeholder leadership to ensure the cooperation of all stakeholders; Step V: Formation of Teen clubs; Step VI: The combined health education programs at community outlets; Step VII: Detection of adolescent health issues by ASHA and anganwadi workers; Step VIII: Setting up of Saturday adolescent clinics at CHCs as a community referral facility. Under 1,060 programs, 34,851 community stakeholders could be trained together including 15,777 mothers, 14,565 adolescents, 2,236 ASHA workers, 2,021 anganwadi workers, and 252 community leaders. The concept of combined training of community stakeholders was found to be feasible and acceptable to the participants. The experience of the CDC-NRHM-AHDP project has shown that ASHA workers and anganwadi workers could be important link persons between adolescents and the health providers.