Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Health information needs assessment among self‑help groups and willingness for involvement in health promotion in a rural setting in Puducherry: A mixed‑method study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

. Sathish Rajaa
. Shanthosh Priyan
. Subitha Lakshminarayanan
. Ganesh Kumar
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over their
own health. Community involvement in social and environmental interventions tends to improve
people’s health and quality of life. Self‑help groups (SHGs) primarily focus on microfinancing, thereby
acting as a catalyst in bringing backward society to the mainstream. They possess huge potential
to influence the health of the community.
OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is to assess the willingness among SHGs for the involvement
in health promotion activities and to assess their health information needs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A community‑based, cross‑sectional study was conducted during
September 2017 in rural Puducherry. All 86 SHGs in four selected villages were covered, and their
leaders were interviewed using a structured questionnaire on functioning of SHGs and their health
information needs. Willingness for health promotion activities was rated on an interest scale (1–100).
RESULTS: Among the 86 heads of SHGs interviewed, 81 SHGs (94.1%) were registered. They were
mainly involved in microfinancing. Health information needs expressed were cancer detection (45%),
diabetes (60%), hypertension (56%) and vector‑borne diseases (63%). When asked to rate
their willingness on an interest scale for health promotion activities, nearly 64% showed a great
interest (i.e., score > 60). Majority were willing to work for noncommunicable disease‑related activities
such as provision of drugs (86%) and for screening of various cancers (84%).
CONCLUSION: This study has shown that majority of SHG members have expressed willingness
for the involvement in health‑related activities, thereby can be utilized as an important resource for
health promotion in rural areas.

Keywords

Health promotion
self‑help groups
willingness
  1. Universal health coverage (UHC) [Internet]. World Health
    Organization. Available from: http://www.who.int/newsroom/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(uhc). [Last
    cited 2018 Sep 11].
    2. Organization WH. Health in Asia and the Pacific. 2008;
    3. Nickel S, Trojan A, Kofahl C. Involving self-help groups in healthcare institutions: the patients’ contribution to and their view of
    “self-help friendliness” as an approach to implement quality
    criteria of sustainable co-operation. Health Expect. 2017;20:274–87.
    4. Viswanath K, Steele WR, and Finnegan JR. Social capital and
    health: civic engagement, community size, and recall of health
    messages, American Journal of Public Health. 2006;96:1456–61.
    5. Wagstaff, A. and Claeson, M. The Millennium Development
    Goals for Health: Rising to the Challenges,World Bank
    Publications,Washington, DC. 2004.
    6. Rutherford ME, Mulholland K and Hill PC. Howaccess to
    health care relates to under-five mortality in sub-Saharan Africa:
    Systematic review, Tropical Medicine & International Health
    2010;15:508.
    7. O’Donnell, O. Access to health care in developing countries:
    Breaking down demand side barriers, Cadernos de Sau´de Pu´
    blica. 2007; 23:2820.
    8. Kanak S and Iiguni Y. Microfinance programs and social capital
    formation: The present scenario in a rural village of Bangladesh,
    The International Journal of Applied Economics and Finance
    2007;1:97.
  2. 9. WHO. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion [Internet].
    Available from: https://www.who.int/healthpromotion/
    conferences/previous/ottawa/en/index1.html. [Last cited 2019
    Jan 7].
    10. Doyle L, Brady AM, Byrne G. An overview of mixed methods
    research. J Res Nurs 2009;14:175-85.
    11. Cohen A, Raja S, Underhill C, Yaro B, Dokurugu A, DeSilva
    M, et al. Sitting with others: mental health self-help groups in
    northern Ghana. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2012;6:1.
    12. Lund C, Waruguru M, Kingori J, Kippen-Wood S, Breuer E,
    Mannarath S, et al. Outcomes of the mental health and development
    model in rural Kenya: A 2-year prospective cohort intervention
    study. Int Health. 2013. doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihs037.
    13. Van der Geest R. Mejor dejarlo tranquilo: vivir con un familiar
    psicótico en Nicaragua. [Best to leave him in peace: living with
    a psychotic family member in Nicaragua]. Amsterdam: AMB
    Press; Obtained from the family association Cuenta Conmigo in
    Nicaragua. 2009.
    14. Johnson S and Rogaly B. Microfinance and Poverty Reduction,
    Oxfam Pubns, UK. 2009.
    15. Marcus R, Porter B, Harper C. Money Matters: Understanding
    Microfinance Save the Children, London. 1999.
    16. Kim KB, Kim MT, Lee HB, Nguyen T, Bone LR, Levine D.
    Community Health Workers Versus Nurses as Counselors or
    Case Managers in a Self-Help Diabetes Management Program.
    Am J Public Health. 2016;106:1052–8.
    17. Sharma S, Van Teijlingen E, Belizán JM, Hundley V, Simkhada P,
    Sicuri E. Measuring What Works: An impact evaluation of women’s
    groups on maternal health uptake in rural Nepal. PloS One.
    2016;11:e0155144.
    18. Saha S. Expanding health coverage in India: role of microfinancebased self-help groups. Glob Health Action. 2017;10:1321272.
    19. Tripathy P, Nair N, Barnett S. Effect of a participatory intervention
    with women’s groups on birth outcomes and maternal depression
    in Jharkhand and Orissa, India: A cluster-randomised controlled
    trial, The Lancet 2010;375:1182.
    20. Arole M and Arole R. Jamkhed, India–the evolution of a world
    training center, in Taylor, Daniel, and Carl E. Taylor, eds, Just and
    Lasting Change: When Communities Own their Futures, Johns
    Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2002. p. 150.
    21. Rosato M, Laverack G, Grabman LH. Community participation:
    lessons for maternal, newborn, and child health, The Lancet,
    2008;372:962.
    22. Rai A and Ravi S. Do spouses make claims? Empowerment and
    microfinance in India, World Development 2011;39:913.
    23. Kofahl C, Trojan A, Knesebeck O von dem, Nickel S. Selfhelp friendliness: A German approach for strengthening
    the cooperation between self-help groups and health care
    professionals. Soc Sci Med 2014;123:217-25.
    24. Aruldas K, Kant A, Mohanan PS. Care-seeking behaviors
    for maternal and newborn illnesses among self-help group
    households in Uttar Pradesh, India. J Health Popul Nutr [Internet].
    2017;36(S1). Available from: https://jhpn.biomedcentral.com/
    articles/10.1186/s41043-017-0121-1. [Last accssed 2018 May 21].
    25. Kim MT, Kim KB, Huh B, Nguyen T, Han H-R, Bone LR, et al.
    The Effect of a Community-Based Self-Help Intervention. Am J
    Prev Med 2015;49:726-37.
    26. Sahar J, Riasmini NM, Nurviyandari D. Reducing neglect and
    improving social support for older people following a self-help
    group in the poor urban community of Jakarta, Indonesia.
    Enfermeria Clin. 2018;28:66-9. 
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 9, Issue 9
September 2019
Pages 1-7

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us