A study on perception of training quality and problems faced by Ashas of Vijyapura district, Karnataka

Abstract

Introduction: One of the key components of the NRHM is to provide every village in the country with a trained female community health activist i.e. Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA). ASHA is a health activist in the community, who will create awareness on health and its determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services. Objectives: To assess the training details of the ASHAs working in Vijayapur District and to know problems faced by them in carrying out their roles and responsibilities. Methods: A cross-sectional study on 617 ASHAs of Vijayapur district. A pre-designed, semi-structured questionnaire was prepared in accordance with the study objectives. The questionnaire was prepared in English and the interview was conducted in Kannada language by explaining them questions one by one. Data collection was done by interview technique. Results: Details of the training session showed that majority (86.1%) of ASHAs had 23 days of training with (5.2%) of ASHAs opined that the training session was over crowded. About 84.6% of ASHAs said that the teacher was able to explain clearly; with 72.8% of ASHAs informed that content of training was appropriate and 18.5% replied that there was a need of refresher training. The main problem faced by ASHAs were delay in their payments (32%), followed by their Expenses incurred is more than the incentives (26%) that they get.