In order to combat the spread of COVID in the villages of Santalpur Taluka, Ashray is involved actively in providing free health care services and hygiene supplies through our Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) in Santalpur Taluka.
The objective of the project focuses on increasing awareness among the rural communities about COVID-19, strengthen the COVID emergency preparedness response system and to increase the access to sanitization procedures & COVID prevention measures.
The objective of the project focuses on increasing awareness among the rural communities about COVID-19, strengthen the COVID emergency preparedness response system and to increase the access to sanitization procedures & COVID prevention measures.
To sensitize the MMU staff and health workers with the recent developments on COVID-19, two virtual training sessions were conducted.
1) Refresher course on symptoms of COVID
In this our health workers were informed about the virus, case investigation, contact tracing, healthcare infection control. Since the virus has the tendency to spread rapidly and in different variants, we also trained our health workers about the precautionary measures that should be taken to stop the spread. They were also informed on- at what stage should the emergency number be contacted, providing RTPCR tests and monitoring a person who has been infected. Further they were introduced to at-home testing kits, handling and its accessibility.
2) Information related to Booster dose
In this training, we informed our health workers on the eligibility criteria for Booster dose. The health workers were also trained on application procedure for booster dose appointment in their area of operation. Important leaflets related to information dissemination were also given to these health workers so that they can easily communicate in their community. Besides the information related to booster dose, health workers were advised on taking good care of the elderly and children in their community. In view of the rise in number of cases, they were also advised on limiting their mobility inside and outside their village area for better prevention.
Our impact by the number
Health workers of the villages of Patan conducted COVID awareness house visits to educate rural community about the preventive measures and hand hygiene practices.
1) A total of 6000 families i.e. approx. 24,000+ population were covered as a part of awareness activities. Our health workers conducted these counseling sessions keeping in mind the norms of social distancing and hygiene measures.
2) A total of 20 villages were covered from the date of initiation of the COVID support project.
In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the villages of Santalpur Taluka, Ashray is involved actively in providing free health care services and hygiene supplies through our Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) in Santalpur Taluka.
The objective of the project focuses on increasing awareness among the rural communities about COVID-19, strengthen the COVID emergency preparedness response system and to increase the access to sanitization procedures & COVID prevention measures.
To sensitize the MMU staff and health workers with the recent developments on COVID-19, two virtual training sessions were conducted.
i) Refresher training – In this our health workers were informed about the virus, case investigation, contact tracing, healthcare infection control. Since the virus has the tendency to spread rapidly, we also trained our health workers about the precautionary measures that should be taken to stop the spread. They were also informed on- at what stage should the emergency number be contacted, providing RTPCR tests and monitoring a person who has been infected. Further they were introduced to vaccine storage, handling, administration, and reporting.
ii) Training on variants – the virus is getting stronger with every mutation and change in its symptoms are also being observed. Keeping this in mind we informed our trainers about the variants i.e. Delta and Lambda. As mucormycosis is also seen on rise we informed them about its symptoms which includes:
a) One-sided facial swelling.
b) Headache.
c) Nasal or sinus congestion.
d) Black lesions on nasal bridge or upper inside of mouth that quickly become more severe.
e) Fever.
This was followed by a session on prevention and cure of the infection. Further we encouraged our health workers to support the local vaccination drives available at local PHCs and encourage their near and dear ones to get vaccinated.
Our impact by the numbers:
Health workers of the villages of Patan conducted COVID awareness house visits to educate rural community about the preventive measures and hand hygiene practices.
1) A total of 6000 families i.e. approx. 24,000+ population were covered as a part of awareness activities. Our health workers conducted these counseling sessions keeping in mind the norms of social distancing and hygiene measures.
2) A total of 20 villages were covered from the date of initiation of the COVID support project.
The ongoing impact of the pandemic has been observed far and wide throughout the entire Santalpur Taluka. Amidst these, our goal was to become a credible source of information stating the recent developments of COVID-19 to the community and encouraging them to opt for vaccination in nationwide vaccine drive.
The objective of the project focuses on increasing awareness among the rural communities about COVID-19, strengthen the COVID emergency preparedness response system and to increase the access to sanitization procedures & COVID prevention measures.
Training on Pre-medical conditions
Considering the current scenario of COVID-19 and its underlying aspects, this quarter, we decided to focus on the pre-medical conditions, which if present, may prove fatal for any COVID patient.
The first chronic disease that we focused on was Diabetes. Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Over time, the health impact that diabetes has, includes damaging the heart, blood vessels, eyes, kidneys and nerves.
As indicated by the World Health Organization(WHO), practicing simple lifestyle measures such as achieving & maintaining a healthy body weight, eating a healthy diet, avoiding sugar & saturated fats and avoiding tobacco can help prevent diabetes and its complications. The purpose of these virtual trainings was to know whether the health workers had enough knowledge about diabetes and to assess their knowledge about possible preventive measures to be taken. To facilitate the learning process, we developed a training manual on diabetes with all the information that will be required by the health worker to spread awareness on the issue. Information on major types of diabetes, the age group they generally appear in, causes & symptoms and their risk factors were shared upon. We also provided them with routine exercise schedule to prevent the complications.
The MMU operating in these villages provides a medium to understand the perception of community on medicine use and overuse. Moving along the lines of same perception, we decided to include a virtual session on antimicrobial resistance. This session included a discussion on main drivers of antimicrobial resistance including role of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene procedures, lack of awareness and knowledge at community level and misconceptions related to increased medicine use.
Keeping in mind the norms of COVID-imposed situation, discussion related to the learning material was conducted via virtual application to reach as many field workers as possible.
Our impact by the number
Health workers of the villages of Patan conducted COVID awareness house visits to educate rural community about the preventive measures and hand hygiene practices.
1) A total of 7318 families i.e. approx. 25,000+ population were covered as a part of awareness activities. Our health workers conducted these counseling sessions keeping in mind the norms of social distancing and hygiene measures.
2) A total of 12 visits per village were conducted via operation of Mobile Medical Unit.
3) A total of 20 villages were covered from the date of initiation of the COVID support project.
4) A total of 4900 masks were distributed among the rural community.
The ongoing pandemic has proven to be burdensome on the rural health infrastructure of several districts of India. In Santalpur taluka of Patan District, we observed a similar case where in health facilities were buried under the cases of symptomatic patients. In order to streamline the functioning of these health centers and to combat the spread of COVID in nearby villages, we undertook a COVID rapid response training in this quarter.
This quarter, our focus was on providing information regarding nearby COVID health facilities to the communities of Santalpur taluka.
Training on COVID Rapid Response
As indicated by the Center for Disease and Prevention (CDC), the time efficient mode of treatment plays an important role in preventing progression of COVID symptoms. As a result of this, we provided training on when to seek medical consultation in these villages. We also provided a roadmap if a COVID case is identified in their family. Considering the proximity of villages and the number of health centers located in the project area, we, with the help of District Health Unit, identified nearby facilities to transfer patients. We gave an online training to our health workers to facilitate necessary counseling in the project area.
In addition to this, a refresher course for preventing COVID was also undertaken during this quarter. This course involved key topics such as modes of transmission of COVID-19, suspected case symptoms, preventive measures to be taken with special emphasis on social distancing, hand hygiene and mask hygiene. We also provided training on importance of data collection and management to evaluate the impact of our intervention and to help monitor the progress of the program.
The major challenges that we faced during this quarter were related to virtual management of staff and information exchange with health facilities’ staff to formulate a feasible roadmap villagewise. However, amidst these challenges, our field staff was able to conform with the virtual managing methodologies and were able to keep us timely updated with the happenings in the field.
Impact of our intervention:
A total of 12,388 people were provided counseling on COVID rapid response and management.
A total of 20 health workers were trained to provide COVID rapid response counseling
A total of 10 villages were covered with the updated counseling roadmap in this quarter.
In order to combat the spread of COVID-19 in the villages of Santalpur Taluka, Ashray is involved actively in providing free health care services and hygiene supplies through our Mobile Medical Unit (MMU) in Santalpur Taluka.
The objective of the project focuses on increasing awareness among the rural communities about COVID-19, strengthen the COVID emergency preparedness response system and to increase the access to sanitization procedures & COVID prevention measures.
To sensitize the MMU staff and health workers with the recent developments on COVID-19, two virtual training sessions were conducted.
Training on COVID-19:
As indicated by the World Health Organization(WHO), practicing simple preventive measures such as frequent hand washing and covering your nose & mouth while coughing, can prevent transmission of COVID-19. The purpose of these virtual trainings was to know whether the health workers had enough knowledge about coronavirus and to assess their knowledge about possible preventive measures to be taken including social distancing. To facilitate the learning process, we developed a training manual on COVID-19 with all the information that will be required by the health worker to spread awareness on the issue.
Keeping in mind the norms of COVID-imposed lockdown, discussion related to the learning material was conducted via virtual application to reach as many field workers as possible. Information on how COVID is reported to spread from person-to-person, with an incubation period of 1 to 14 days, symptoms including sore throat, difficulty breathing, low grade fever, weakness and general discomfort were shared upon. Health workers were advised to take immediate actions such as calling the nearby COVID managing facilities, upon identification of potential COVID related signs. At the end of the training, all the health workers appeared for an online COVID-19 certification exam.
Considering the novelty of recent pandemic, there is paucity of credible literature related to COVID prevention. In such a scenario, there is a high probability of involving oneself in sharing preconceived myths which are not relevant to combating the virus spread. In order to sensitize health workers with the credible sources of information, a chapter was included in the manual which identifies fake WhatsApp forwards & list of preconceived myths. To solve the queries related to these preconceived notions, a discussion was held during the virtual training session. Health workers were advised to spread awareness on how not to indulge oneself in spreading COVID related rumors. They were also trained on destigmatizing the concept of COVID illness in the rural community by making special efforts to reach out to high risk groups such as senior citizens and young children.
In addition to this virtual training session, we shared pamphlets and leaflets related to COVID-19, that are to be distributed in the rural community. We have been briefing our health workers time to time about the updated information on COVID-19 to keep them informed about the recent developments in the pandemic. We have been also involved in taking daily follow ups of field staff to ensure smooth operation of COVID-19 related awareness.
The major challenges that we faced were related to virtual management of staff and information exchange for emergency preparedness. However, amidst these challenges, our MMU staff and health worker staff have worked relentlessly to conform themselves to the lockdown restrictions and adapted quickly with the learning methodologies in regards with the pandemic.
Our impact by the number
Health workers of the villages of Patan conducted COVID awareness house visits to educate rural community about the preventive measures and hand hygiene practices.
1) A total of 6221 families i.e. approx. 25,000+ population were covered as a part of awareness activities. Our health workers conducted these counseling sessions keeping in mind the norms of social distancing and hygiene measures.
2) A total of 20 Health workers were trained and certified under COVID-19 awareness and prevention program.
3) A total of 12 visits per village were conducted via operation of Mobile Medical Unit.
4) A total of 20 villages were covered from the date of initiation of the COVID support project.
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