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University of Texas at Austin

Publication Date

Fall 2016

Program Name

India: Public Health, Policy Advocacy, and Community

Abstract

India is home to 240 million children currently at risk of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis, which is spread via unclean water, soil, and food, and causes acute pain and malnutrition. While acknowledging the research debates over WASH and mass drug administration, this study seeks to identify the systemic multidisciplinary issues affecting STH elimination efforts in rural Udaipur. Twenty-three interviews were conducted in villages, government departments, NGOs, and medical sectors to identify the challenges within each approach to deworming, and their experiences with multi-sectoral collaboration. The most recurring issues across disciplines were need for invested local leadership, increase in health literacy of adults, and coordination between NGO and government. Specifically there is a need for consistent communication and reporting between government health and education departments. The results of this study and further research hope to make deworming treatment and prevention more comprehensive and efficient so that India might achieve the WHO goal of eliminating STH-related mortality by 2020.

Disciplines

Asian Studies | Civil and Environmental Engineering | Community Health | Environmental Policy | Health Policy | Maternal and Child Health | Parasitic Diseases | Parasitology | Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation | Public Health | Public Policy | Soil Science

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