Summary:
The findings also shed light on the healthcare system’s apathy in identifying beneficiaries and informing them about antenatal care and immunisation services. ‘Comparison of Healthcare Utilisation Pattern and its Correlates among the Tribal and Non-tribal Population of Kerala’ and ‘Impediments to Optimal Healthcare Utilisation of a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group in Wayanad: A Qualitative Study’ are the two separate studies which came up with the findings. “The first one is a comparative cross sectional study among tribal and non-tribal mothers utilising antenatal care, immunisation, and supplementary nutrition services,” said Hisham Moosan of Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, lead author of both the studies. “The conclusions of the first study regarding the difference in getting effective antenatal care in tribal and non-tribal is statistically significant. Also, there was greater incidence of low birth weight among tribal mothers (31 per cent) compared to non-tribal mothers (15 per cent),” said Hisham..