Improving healthcare access: impact assessment of model urban primary health centers in Chhattisgarh

Abstract

Background: As per the 2011 census, only 23.24% of Chhattisgarh’s population lives in urban areas, while 76.76% resides in rural regions. Urban residents largely rely on district hospitals and medical colleges for secondary and tertiary care, resulting in high unmet demand for OPD services, especially among the working population. To address this challenge, CInI (Collectives for integrated livelihood initiatives), an associate organization of TATA Trusts, initiated an intervention to strengthen healthcare access by developing 20 urban primary health centres (UPHCs) as model facilities with the national health mission (C. G). The intervention focuses on creating a patient flow, ambience, immunization services, technology-adoption (NCD and DPDMIS), and staff capacity to improve quality-care. The primary aim was to create a replicable model that can be scaled up in other facilities statewide.

Methods: As a third-party evaluator and with NHM approval, the department of community medicine at Pt. JNM medical college, Raipur, conducted an impact assessment of the 20 intervention UPHCs from June 12-25, 2023. Assessors visited each centre for data collection using a pre-designed semi-structured questionnaire, and findings were analysed through a composite scoring method.

Results: The assessment revealed significant improvements in the quality of services at the UPHCs, leading to an increase in OPD footfall. 

Conclusions: The demonstration of a model health facility through patient-centric amenities and focused capacity building efforts enabled the quality initiatives at the health facility, improved utilisation of services, and showcases an approach that can be replicated across the health system.