Publications by authors named "Heeya Maity"
Article Synopsis
- - Adolescence is a critical developmental phase where inadequate health knowledge can lead to poor health outcomes in adulthood; thus, education on health topics is vital.
- - The RKSK program in India uses peer educators to improve adolescents' knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to various health issues, with a study focusing on KAP disparities by gender.
- - Results showed that adolescents had the most knowledge about substance misuse, but less about sexual health and violence; peer educators generally had better knowledge, and engagement with RKSK improved nutritional practices among participants.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic strained India's healthcare system and health workers unprecedentedly.
Purpose: The extent of the contribution by peer educators (PEs) from India's National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) to COVID-19 response activities remains uncertain necessitating an imperative investigation. Within the overarching objective of the 'i-Saathiya' study ('i' signifies implementation science and Saathiya represents PEs in Madhya Pradesh), a key focus was to understand the role of PEs recruited under RKSK during COVID-19 in two Indian states, namely Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Objective: Indian adolescents experience several health challenges requiring acceptable, equitable, appropriate and effective healthcare services. Our objective was to assess the compliance of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) in two of India's largest states, using both national benchmarks (under Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram-RKSK) and global standards (by WHO).
Design: Cross-sectional study comprising structured observations and interactions (November 2021 to June 2022).
Background: To understand the impact of COVID-19 on implementation of the peer education programme of the National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK); repurposing of the RKSK health workers and Peer Educators (PEs) in COVID-19 response activities and effect on adolescents´ health and development issues.
Methods: Virtual in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders (n = 31) (aged 15 to 54 years) engaged in the implementation of the RKSK and peer education programme at state, district, block, and village levels in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (India). These interviews were thematically coded and analysed to address the research objectives.