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In developing countries, including India, the role of the private sector in the provision of basic healthcare services is gradually expanding, since the public sector provides limited services and covers only limited areas. Using location-allocation models (LAM), this paper (1) examines the changing geographic access to and locational efficiency of basic public healthcare vis-a`-vis private healthcare services in two districts located in northwestern part of India, and (2) interrogates the factors that govern their geographic accessibility and locational-efficiency.Although this research confirms regional inequalities in geographic accessibility and locational efficiency of both public and private healthcare services in the selected districts, the locational efficiency of private health services is significantly lower than that of public health services. This paper further demonstrates the use of LAM for new site identification (keeping the existing healthcare sites intact) that will, in the future, improve locational efficiency of these services. This paper not only recommends improved geographic access to both public and private health services and their enhanced complementary role, but also stresses the need to evaluate geographic access from the service-users’ perspective and the use of more realistic data on demand and supply in future research. The findings of this paper can be extended to areas with similar geographic settings, and socio-economic and demographic conditions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: India has a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework and large public health delivery system which are disconnected from the realities of health care delivery and financing for most Indians. In reviewing the current bureaucratic approach to regulation, we find an extensive set of rules and procedures, though we argue it has failed in three critical ways, namely to (1) protect the interests of vulnerable groups; (2) demonstrate how health financing meets the public interests; (3) generate the trust of providers and the public. The paper reviews the state of alternative approaches to regulation of health services in India, using consumer and market based approaches, as well as multi-actor and collaborative approaches. We argue that poor regulation is a symptom of poor governance and that simply creating and enforcing the rules will continue to have limited effects. Rather than advocate for better implementation and expansion of the current bureaucratic approach, where Ministries of Health focus on their roles as inspectorate and provider, we propose that India''s future health system is more likely to achieve its goals through greater attention to consumer and other market oriented approaches, and through collaborative mechanisms that enhance accountability. Civil society organizations, the media, and provider organizations can play more active parts in disclosing and using information on the use of health resources and the performance of public and private providers. The overview of the health sector would be more effective, if Indian Ministries of Health were to actively facilitate participation of these key stakeholders and the use of information. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The objectives of this paper are to examine factors associated with use of antenatal care in rural areas of north India, to investigate access to specific critical components of care and to study differences in the pattern of services received via health facilities versus home visits. We used the 1998–1999 Indian National Family Health Survey of ever-married women in the reproductive age group and analysed data from the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh (n=11,369). Overall, about three-fifths of rural women did not receive any antenatal check-up during their last pregnancy. Services actually received were predominantly provision of tetanus toxoid vaccination and supply of iron and folic acid tablets. Only about 13% of pregnant women had their blood pressure checked and a blood test done at least once. Women visited by health workers received fewer services compared to women who visited a health facility. Home visits were biased towards households with a better standard of living. There was significant under-utilisation of nurse/midwives in the provision of antenatal services and doctors were often the lead providers. The average number of antenatal visits reported in this study was 2.4 and most visits were in the second trimester. Higher social and economic status was associated with increased chances of receiving an antenatal check-up, and of receiving specific components including blood pressure measurement, a blood test and urine testing but not the obstetric physical examination, which was however linked to ever-use of family planning and the education of women and their husbands. Thus, pregnant women from poor and uneducated backgrounds with at least one child were the least likely to receive antenatal check-ups and services in the four large north Indian states. Basic antenatal care components are effective means to prevent a range of pregnancy complications and reduce maternal mortality. The findings indicate substantial limitations of the health services in overcoming socio-economic and cultural barriers to access. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the last two decades, India's central and many state governments launched several public health programs with the goal of improving maternal and child health outcomes. Many individual studies assessed the impact of these programs; however, they focused on select health programs and few specific outcomes. This paper summarizes the literature, published during 2000–2019, investigating the impacts of public health programs on both the uptake of maternal and child health services and the related-health outcomes in India. We followed PRISMA guidelines of systematic review, and carried out a narrative synthesis of the study findings. We found 66 relevant studies covering 11 health programs across India. Most studies had applied non-experimental study designs (n = 50), with few applying experimental (n = 1) and quasi-experimental (n = 15) designs. Most studies (n = 64) assessed the impact on the intermediate outcomes of the uptake of various health services rather on the long-term outcomes of improvement in health. Overall we found studies reporting positive impacts, however, we could not find any strong consensus emerging from these studies about the impact, partly due to differences in: outcome indicators; study designs; study population; data sets. Several studies also reported considerable beneficial impacts among low socioeconomic population groups. However, given that the outreach of the public health programs have been low across the country and population groups, we found that broader objectives of health programs remained unassessed: most studies assessed the impact on who actually participated in the program (average treatment effect on-the-treated) rather on the target population (intent-to-treat effect). Furthermore, there was dearth of research on the impacts of the state-level programs. Future research need to assess the impact of the programs on health outcomes, and on quality adjusted measures of maternal and child health services and its continuum of care. • Most studies have focused on the impact on maternal and child health services. • Most studies reported beneficial impact on health services and the health-related outcomes. • Impact on the intended larger target population remains unassessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]