Child and maternal health services in rural India. The Narangwal experiment. 2. Integrated family planning and health care.

Abstract

Narangwal--an Indian village in Punjab--was the base for a Rural Health Research Centre sponsored by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). This is long-term field research done in a collaborative style with village people. The Narangwal research has pproduced some of the most specific evidence available on what primary health care can do for women and children in the poor and deprived areas of the world. It demonstrated the benefits of integrating family planning and maternal and child care in 1 project and nutrition and infection control in a parellel project. It showed how auxiliary based health care can be organized to be provided at an average cost of US$2/capita/year at 1970 prices. The project was conducted during 1967-74 in 8 village clusters including a total of 26 villages with a population of 35000 distributed in 3 community development blocks with a population of 300000. This research used the experimental design of a controlled field trial but it was applied flexibly to develop adapt and improve services over time. Measuring the inputs of services the outputs of utilization and the outcomes of improved health and family planning made it possible to calculate the effectiveness and equity of different interventions. The volume is divided into 2 parts: 1) the Narangwal population experiment; and 2) the detailed findings. These 2 parts consist of 8 chapters. Appendix A contains the method of data collection; Appendix B description of project services.