Door to Door Survey cum Health Camp in Tribal Population of Northern India

Abstract

Context: In India, a Sub-Centre is the most peripheral and the lowest rung of the three-tier health care delivery system. As part of the various services offered by the Sub-Centre, Door to door surveys and field camp are important activities that bring the health care system to the door step of the community. Door to door surveys and health camps in the adjoining areas of Sub-centres which are located in backward, far flung or tribal areas is a good method to reach the tribal population in particular. Methods and Material: The door to door survey cum health camp which was conducted by the department of community medicine in collaboration with NSS in the field practise area of Government Medical College, Srinagar. With an intention to organise the health camp for the tribal population, Sub-Centre Faqeer Gujree was selected purposively so as to evaluate the health standards of the tribal population in particular. Results: Socio-demographic characteristics of the community subject’s show male predominant population with a ratio of 89 women to 100 men. 40% of the population is illiterate and only 4% individuals having acquired education above higher secondary. 90% of the total households belong to upper lower to upper middle class socioeconomic status. The community has 247 eligible couples with 23 pregnant women. Total births in the year 2016 were 40. 30% of the population uses contraceptive methods for birth spacing with 100% immunization coverage in the area. Crude death rate of the area is 4.71 per 1000 population and infant mortality rate is 50.00 per 1000 live births with 9.83 per 1000 population as hospitalization ratio. Conclusions: Door to door surveys is a good method to reach the tribal community in particular and such surveys should be carried out every year to determine the health status and health care delivery services provided to the tribal community.