142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Home Events & Meetings Annual Meeting Schedule & Program

Online Program

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

305785
Small Investments, Big Gains: Improving access to Social Protection in India

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Siddhi Mankad, MA , Swasti, Catalyst Management Group, Bangalore, India
Urvashi Wattal, MA , Swasti, Catalyst Management Group, Bangalore, India
N Raghunathan, BS , Swasti, Catalyst Management Group, Bangalore, India
Angela Chaudhuri , Swasti, Bangalore, India
Kathleen Conte, MA , School of Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
Introduction:Stigmatization and criminalization of marginalized populations are primary drivers of HIV/AIDS pandemics in developing countries. Government-administered public measures (e.g. entitlements, employment, education), called social protection, protect citizens during economic or social distress and are cost-effective ways to mitigate HIV/AIDS impacts by improving health and reducing vulnerability. However, illiteracy, unawareness, and complicated application processes reduce uptake of social protection entitlements. This pilot aimed to increase entitlement uptake in twelve districts in India. 

Methods:Government and civil society organizations collaborated to implement a single-window model to increase awareness and application for entitlements. This strategy emphasized demand generation, which improved community awareness of entitlements, and supply enhancement, which addressed stigma from government departments. Outcomes at 1-year, were evaluated through interviewer-administered pre/post surveys with participants randomly selected across districts (n=600). 

Results:Awareness of entitlements increased 58% from baseline. Barriers to applying included lacking appropriate documentation, lengthy application processes, and diffidence in success. Successful aspects of the single-window model included application assistance from peer groups, and the presence of a district-level government AIDS-coordinating unit. Respondents experienced less corruption, and more success securing entitlements. In the absence of entitlements, participants reported increased risky behaviors like increasing sex work and informal money borrowing.

Conclusions:India’s National Aids Control Program has adopted the single-window model as a result of this successful project and will scale-up implementation to 250 districts in 2014. Financial investment in improving social protection uptake is a sustainable and effective investment for governments to mitigate impacts on vulnerable populations including those affected by HIV/AIDS or other stigmatizing conditions.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Discuss how social protection reduces vulnerability by impacting contextual factors and how it differs from traditional risk-reduction approaches Explain how social protection can benefit marginalized and stigmatized populations

Keyword(s): Social Services, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: My research focuses on building organizational capacity to offer sustainable health programs and services, especially in resource-poor areas. I have worked in sexual health education for the past 6 years, and completed an internship on this project that involved the dissemination of the results.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3094.0: IH Poster Session 2: HIV/ AIDS