ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRAINING AND POST-TRAINING SUPPORTIVE MECHANISM FOR ACCREDITED SOCIAL HEALTH ACTIVIST (ASHAS): A DISTRICT-LEVEL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY IN MAHARASHTRA

Introduction: The Government of India launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to strengthen the Healthcare infrastructure to achieve the goal of promoting access to healthcare at the household level through the creation of a cadre of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists). The study aimed to assess the extent of capacity building and post-training supportive mechanisms for ASHA Method: A cross?sectional observational study was undertaken in Primary health centres of Thane District in Maharashtra, India, between September 2018 to May 2019. Five Primary Health Care centers were randomly selected from the District. Approximately 30 ASHAs worked under each PHC. From Each PHC, 15 ASHA workers were randomly selected, i.e. 50% of the total number of ASHAs using a simple random sampling technique. A sample size of 75 was taken. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to the participants via a face-to-face interview after taking their informed consent. Results: It was observed that the majority of the ASHA workers scored more than 8 points about ANC care (66.7%), 56% scored a perfect 10 with regard to PNC care while 48% scored 10 points with regard to other roles and responsibilities of ASHA. Attending refresher training and >12 meetings per year with ASHA facilitators had a statistically significant positive effect on improving the performance of ASHA. Conclusion: The frequency of meetings with ASHA facilitators was inconsistent as per NRHM guidelines. ASHAs had adequate knowledge about their roles & responsibilities, ANC care, and PNC care as most scored satisfactory to good score during the assessment.