OBJECTIVES: I assessed whether the Rural Drinking Water Supply Program (RDWSP) and the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) have achieved equitable coverage in Rajasthan, India, and explored program characteristics that affect equitable coverage of preventive health interventions. METHODS: A total of 2460 children presenting at 12 primary health facilities in one district of Rajasthan were enrolled and classified into economic quartiles based on possession of assets. Immunization coverage and prime source of drinking water were compared across quartiles. RESULTS: A higher access to piped water by wealthier families (P< .001) was compensated by higher access to hand pumps by poorer families (P<.001), resulting in equal access to a safe source (P=.9). Immunization coverage was inequitable, favoring the wealthier children (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The RDWSP has achieved equitable coverage, while UIP coverage remains highly inequitable. Programs can make coverage more equitable by formulating explicit objectives to ensure physical access to all, promoting the intervention's demand by the poor, and enhancing the support and monitoring of frontline workers who deliver these interventions.
OBJECTIVES: I assessed whether the Rural Drinking Water Supply Program (RDWSP) and the Universal Immunization Program (UIP) have achieved equitable coverage in Rajasthan, India, and explored program characteristics that affect equitable coverage of preventive health interventions. METHODS: A total of 2460 children presenting at 12 primary health facilities in one district of Rajasthan were enrolled and classified into economic quartiles based on possession of assets. Immunization coverage and prime source of drinking water were compared across quartiles. RESULTS: A higher access to piped water by wealthier families (P< .001) was compensated by higher access to hand pumps by poorer families (P<.001), resulting in equal access to a safe source (P=.9). Immunization coverage was inequitable, favoring the wealthier children (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: The RDWSP has achieved equitable coverage, while UIP coverage remains highly inequitable. Programs can make coverage more equitable by formulating explicit objectives to ensure physical access to all, promoting the intervention's demand by the poor, and enhancing the support and monitoring of frontline workers who deliver these interventions.
Authors: Alvan Cheng; Angie Ghanem-Uzqueda; Nicole A Hoff; Hayley Ashbaugh; Reena H Doshi; Patrick Mukadi; Roger Budd; Stephen G Higgins; Christina Randall; Sue Gerber; Michel Kabamba; Guilluame Ngoie Mwamba; Emile Okitolonda-Wemakoy; Jean Jacques Muyembe-Tanfum; Anne W Rimoin Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-05-19 Impact factor: 3.752
Authors: Brian Wahl; Madhu Gupta; Daniel J Erchick; Bryan N Patenaude; Taylor A Holroyd; Molly Sauer; Madeleine Blunt; Mathuram Santosham; Rupali Jayant Limaye Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2021-05-01 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Steven Mitchell; Neil Andersson; Noor Mohammad Ansari; Khalid Omer; José Legorreta Soberanis; Anne Cockcroft Journal: BMC Int Health Hum Rights Date: 2009-10-14