Book: Health for the rural masses

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Book: Health for the rural masses

Health for the rural masses: Insights from Chakaria provides an overview of the situation of health system as it exists in rural Chakaria, Bangladesh. The findings highlight the construct of the existing health systems, people’s health seeking behaviours, the role of formal and informal healthcare providers, the size of health market, and costs of healthcare. The understanding gained from this inquiry is invaluable with far reaching implications for future systems strategies.

The findings from the study clearly depict a heavy burden of illness prevailing in Chakaria and the persisting acute shortage of health workforce to manage this situation. Moreover, the village doctors with little or no formal training constitute 62% of the healthcare providers practicing modern medicine and the formally trained providers are occupying a mere 4% of the total health workforce of the area. The health seeking pattern of the villagers show that nearly 70% of the patients who consulted a healthcare provider for curative services, contacted a village doctor. Showing clearly that village doctors are a major player in the healthcare system in Chakaria, it is logical to assert that this group is a realistic and available option to deliver health in Bangladesh. The important issue is to decide on the level of involvement and the services they can appropriately provide.

In the face of a serious health workforce crisis, the book concludes with some practical recommendations to deal with the present situation. The recommendations focus on making the best use of the existing resources in developing the health systems of the area and the country in general to ensure quality health care for all.