Government’s Door-to-Door Campaign for Health Screening

In yet another measure to bring reforms in the administrative system of the country, the Narendra Modi led Central Government launched the campaign of door to door screening for certain chronic diseases. Under this campaign, the government seeks to identify the patients suffering from these diseases by inquiry into every household of India and put them on preventive treatment.

This is indeed one of the remarkable steps taken by the government towards a disease free India. But there are certain loopholes also in the scheme which should be identified and cured so that there is no hindrance in the implementation of the scheme. So, we need to analyze the programme or campaign in terms of its working, advantages and disadvantages in order to appreciate the programme.

Door to Door Screening-How does it Work?

• Target diseases: This is one of the main aspects of the campaign. The target has been set for various diseases, while the programme could be launched only for a few. However, the targeted diseases are-
• Tuberculosis
• Diabetes
• Oral, breast and cervical cancer
• Hypertension
• Heart disorders
• Leprosy
• Area covered: The Campaign has currently been launched in five states — Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Bihar and Sikkim for door to door screening for tuberculosis. In Odisha, the campaign has been started for oral, cervical and breast cancer on World Cancer Day i.e. 4^th February, 2017. It is expected to kickstart in more states by July 2017 for all the target diseases.
• Target age-group: Currently the programme is being launched only for the age groups of 30-69 (adult group) and of 0-4 (child group). The target group has been set considering the premature deaths in these age groups. There are two main reasons for targeting these two groups:
• The mortality rate of all the other age groups has declined over time except for these two particular age groups.
• A focus on control of premature deaths in these two age levels will have an impact on other age groups too. For example, curbing any of these diseases at early childhood will control them for the rest of the childhood that is, till 29 years. After that, again a screening will be done to control the diseases. If it is controlled at this age, it will help in control at an old age also. So these two age groups are very crucial.
• Procedure to be followed under the Programme– For the purpose of implementation, the Accredited Social Health Activists (Asha) and Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) workers would be equipped with required equipment. They are to be trained to identify the patients and provide the basic treatment for early cure.

The ASHA workers are required to visit every family in the locality allocated to them. Then they will be creating a family folder in the manner designed by health experts and screen family members verbally.

Advantages of the Programme

The programme has been welcomed in India due to various reasons which are as follows:

• Target diseases– The targeted diseases, though non-communicable are the major ones affecting the Indian population. A look at the statistics indicates that 25% of the Indians suffer from these diseases and some like the cancer, diabetes and hypertension cause 35% deaths and 55% premature mortality in India.
• Target population– The target population of the programme is also very appreciable. The programme, instead of targeting the whole population in one go, which is almost an impossible task to achieve, has targeted only a particular age group. Not only this, the age group selection is done in a manner such that it has an overall effect on the society. For instance, the people of the age group of 30-69 constitute the major working population. Poverty is so rampant in India and the government does not have sufficient funds to support the whole dependent population. So the dependent population is heavily dependent on the gainfully employed population which comes from this age group. By securing the health of this population the government secures an entire household both economically and socially. This population also has a greater contribution towards the economy in terms of increase in GDP and manpower.

Since the age group of 1-6 is vital for well-being in the rest of the life, this is also a good target for the programme.

• Early detection– Early detection of some of the diseases like tuberculosis and cancer helps in curing the person. So by screening at a regular basis, the diseases can be detected early.

Success Story

There is more for the Door to Door Screening Process introduced by the government. The exercise has already detected 1800 new cases of TB in around 18 states.  The screening took place of around 34 lakh people and 26,000 were suspected of having TB. But the confirmation took place o 1800. These are all in the early stage and can be prevented if checked now.

Conclusion

The Programme with all its targets and method of working is a very welcome move. The success story narrates it all. There is however a lot more to do in this regard.  One can only wait and watch and hope for this programme to be a grand success for the years to come.