Assessment of knowledge and awareness about utilization of Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram: A community-based study in a rural block of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: In view of the difficulty being faced by the pregnant women and parents of sick newborn along with high expenditure on delivery and treatment of sick newborn, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has taken a major initiative to ensure better facilities for women and child health services through the Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) on June 1 2011. It is an initiative to provide completely free and cashless services to pregnant women. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was (1) to find out the awareness level about JSSK among pregnant women and lactating mothers and to determine the sources of awareness and knowledge about the components of JSSK and (2) to find out the association between demographic factors and benefits and satisfaction level about JSSK among the rural women of Kangra district. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 106 pregnant women and lactating mothers selected by convenient sampling technique with the help of structured questionnaire from December 2016 to February 2017. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. RESULTS: It was observed that among 106 women, good awareness was found only in 84.9% of them, maximum awareness (56.6%) was created through anganwadi workers, 49.1% of the women heard about it before pregnancy, 44.3% heard about it during pregnancy, and 15.1% of the women had no knowledge about the program. The study showed that educational status (P = 0.001) was significant with receiving the benefits of JSSK. However, it revealed that both educational status (P = 0.001) and occupation (P = 0.03) of the women were significantly associated with the satisfaction with JSSK. CONCLUSION: The level of awareness regarding JSSK in pregnant women and lactating mothers was found to be good, but it was found that despite having good knowledge of the program, the women are not taking much concern about the ongoing program. The women need to be encouraged for more utilization of the services which are comprehensively built for them.