House Calls: Understanding and Reducing the Impact of COVID-19 on Women in Rural India
Researchers
Rohini Pande, Erica M. Field, Charity Troyer Moore, Simone Schaner, Natalia Rigol, Giorgia Barboni
Abstract
India’s lockdown could indirectly create health crises. Women of reproductive age and children are particularly vulnerable: pregnant women may find it difficult to access ante- and post-natal care or get to functioning health posts for delivery; vaccine coverage rates are likely to fall acutely; and children with acute non-COVID illnesses may be kept at home instead of taken to health centers. We propose to leverage an ongoing randomized controlled trial to evaluate two questions: (1) Are women of reproductive age and children deferring routine medical care? Are poor rural households able to access medical care during the pandemic? What social assistance programs are poor rural households aware of and accessing during the pandemic? What are the barriers to accessing health and social services? (2) Does targeted information on health resource availability and disease prevention practices, delivered through a trusted phone-based service, improve utilization of care, receipt of social assistance, and COVID-related attitudes and behavior?
Project Outcomes of Interest
Health knowledge, behaviors and outcomes; take-up of social assistance programs
Partners
Government of Chhattisgarh, Yale Economic Growth Center
Impact Goals
- Improve social-safety net responses
- Improve women’s health, safety, and economic empowerment
Project Data Collection Mode
- CATI (Computer-assisted telephone interviewing)
Results Status
No Results Yet