Why are they "unreached"? Macro and Meso determinants of health care access in hard to reach areas of Odisha, India.

Background: Reaching hard to reach populations is key to reduce health inequities. Despite targeted interventions, status of crucial public health indicators like neonatal and maternal mortality is still far from optimal. Complex interplay of social determinants can influence both communities and health care workers to effectively access each other.

Understanding community perception and disability weights - A qualitative exploration of reasons associated with values in two states of India.

Background: Health state valuation attempts to evaluate health states based on the perception of individuals. The values are used to derive disability weights (DWs) -an important metric for estimation of disability-adjusted life years and thereby calculation of the burden of diseases. Several studies have calculated DWs using different methods of valuation, however, very few have attempted to explore the underlying cause for assigning values to different health states.

Parental care-seeking pathway and challenges for autistic spectrum disorders children: A mixed method study from Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Background: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is globally a major cause of childhood disability. It is estimated that in India approximately 1.7-2 million children are affected with this disorder.

Barriers and enablers to adoption of intrauterine device as a contraceptive method: A multi-stakeholder perspective.

Background: Promoting family planning practices aid considerably in attaining Millennium Development Goals by various mechanisms. Despite concerted health system efforts, adoption of especially reversible contraceptive methods such as intrauterine devices (IUDs) has remained negatively skewed in India, which is the pioneer country to implement Family Planning programme way back in 1952. Although few studies in India have looked into the reasons for its nonacceptance, literature from Odisha was scant and hence the study was undertaken.

Blended Training for Frontline Health Functionaries: Is this the Way Ahead?

Background: To test the change in the knowledge of the study participants following a Blended Training and Learning Approach (BTLA). Secondly, the paper also tries to discuss the use of this method over the classical classroom based trainings. Frontline health functionaries are the backbone of almost all health goals.

A study of organizational versus individual needs related to recruitment, deployment and promotion of doctors working in the government health system in Odisha state, India.

Background: An effective health workforce is essential for achieving health-related new Sustainable Development Goals. Odisha, one of the states in India with low health indicators, faces challenges in recruiting and retaining health staff in the public sector, especially doctors. Recruitment, deployment and career progression play an important role in attracting and retaining doctors.

Care seeking pathways of older adults with hip fracture in India: exploratory study protocol.

Background: The incidence of hip fractures in older adults in India is likely to increase dramatically in the coming decades as a result of an aging population and increasing life expectancy. Currently, more than 600,000 adults over 60 years of age suffer a hip fracture annually in India. This paper outlines a protocol for a qualitative study investigating the care seeking behavior of older adults with hip fractures: to determine the processes in decision making, identify causes for delay in obtaining care, and identify potential barriers and facilitators to seeking appropriate care in time.

Why medical students do not like to join rural health service? An exploratory study in India.

Introduction: Inadequate, inequitable distribution of the medical workforce remains a challenge across the globe, and India is no exception. Odisha, a state in India faces a major shortage of doctors particularly in rural and remote areas. In order to address this challenge, it is essential to understand medical students' career plans, specialization preferences, choices of job location and sector, and views on working in rural and remote areas.

How supportive supervision influences immunization session site practices: a quasi-experimental study in Odisha, India.

Background: Routine immunization (RI) is a key child survival intervention. Ensuring acceptable standards of RI service delivery is critical for optimal outcomes. Accumulated evidences suggest that 'supportive supervision' improves the quality of health care services in general.

Effect of supportive supervision on routine immunization service delivery-a randomized post-test study in Odisha.

Introduction: Routine immunization is a key child survival intervention. Issues related to quality of service delivery pose operational challenges in delivering effective immunization services. Accumulated evidences suggest that "supportive supervision" improves the quality of health care services.