Source management

The Microsoft website page was a really good help to find out how to add citations, manage sources and do bibliography entries. Word has a really helpful "Source Manager" in which you can add all the sources that you have used and it automatically creates a placeholder for it so that when you want to do citations and footnotes, so it can easily link up the citations and the sources that you have used.

Here I have added one of the sources that I want to use while writing up my report. 

In the "Current List" box you can see that the program has created a placeholder for the entry.

Also the Bibliography entry has been automatically created for this particular source.

So, now I just need to keep adding the sources that I am going to use. However I need to check with my course supervisor that this is the format the bibliography needs to be in.

Citations, bibliography and managing sources

As I have started writing up my report, I need to learn how to do citations and bibliography in Microsoft Word. So I searched online and found help on the Microsoft help website (http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/mac-word-help/add-or-change-sources-citations-and-bibliographies-HA102929528.aspx) which clearly goes through the steps to add citations and ways to manage sources. I need to try this out and see if this is what I actually need to do for the OCR EPQ.

Idea for final piece

I have decided on the final structure for my report which I have attached. This includes roughly the sources I will be using an all the sub headings that I want to use and the different points that I would like to cover in each of the sections and subsequent sub-sections.

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Structure for the report

1)      Introduction

2)      Section 1 – only observations. DO NOT ANALYSE (INITIAL OBSERVATIONS AND FOLLOWING THAT SOME HYPOTHESES AS TO WHAT IS CAUSING THE PROBLEMS)

            a)      Observations from work experience

i)        Intro to the setting

ii)       What kind of stuff I did there

iii)     What I saw

iv)     Additional external factors

            b)      Research results

i)        R Srinivasan report

(1)    planningcommission.gov.in/reports/genrep/bkpap2020/26_bg2020.doc

(2)    planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/vision2025/health.doc

ii)       Health policy book –Ian Crinson

iii)     Asha workers

(1)    http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/5/e001557.long

(2)    http://globalcenters.columbia.edu/content/improving-performance-accredited-social-health-activists-india

iv)     UCL report

(1)    http://www.ucl.ac.uk/pharmacy/documents/news_docs/healthcareinindiajuly2013

v)      Miscellaneous websites/sources

(1)    (check the highlighted ones in the bibliography)

3)      Section 2 (CHEKING IF THE HYPOTHESES ARE CORRECT BY USING RESULTS FROM "INVESTIGATION")

             a)      Initial thoughts – what I thought it was like before this research

             b)      Analysis of research from sources

             c)       Draw conclusions from the analysis

4)      Section 3 (revise this order depending on how this section turns out and how the previous section influences it) (DO THE RESULTS CORRELATE WITH THE HYPOTHESES? IF YES THEN TO WHAT EXTENT? IF NO THEN WHY NOT?)

             a)      Why there is a need for change

             b)      List of improvements

i)        While explaining how this would alleviate the problems now being face

ii)       While also stating any counter arguments

             c)       Any major barriers that may be faced during implementation

5)      Conclusion

             a)      Ultimately the importance of healthcare system in India

             b)      The balance between the positives and the negatives (how there are more positives

             c)       How the improvements will change the system for better/ enhance the good already in the system

6)      Appendix

7)      Bibliography

8)      Sources
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A book!!

After much searching through libraries and through the internet for a book to include in my research (as the assessment criteria states that candidates must use a wide variety of types of sources in their research for the EPQ), I have found a book that relates to my subject area.

The book is called Health Policy, a critical perspective. It is written by Iain Crinsion who is the leader of sociological research at St. George's University of London. 

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Dr Crinson’s research focuses on developing a sociological analysis of the decision-making processes associated with the implementation of health policy in the U.K. A particular focus is on impact of the emergence of a ‘Patient 2.0’ and the greater reliance on information technology in the NHS, collaborating with the Information security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London.

 - St George's University of London

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The book is a critical assessment of developments in the health and healthcare policy in the UK and Europe and looks both at the sociological and the political aspect of the situation to offer a holistic view of the healthcare system.

Although the book is not specific to the topic I am doing, the structure and the way it comments on the health care systems is very interesting and has given me some ideas about how I want to structure my report (as I have outlined in a previous post). 

The book is separated into 4 different sections in which the first section is just establishing the facts and the following sections examine and assess each of the facts outlined. This is the basic stricture that I would like to follow in my report.

Through research I have found that the author is very reliable as he is a senior lecturer at St. George's University of London in Health and Health Policy. I will give a full literature review once I have read the book (or at least relevant sections of it).

Basic structure for my report

The report I want to be produce will be divided into 3 sections:

SECTION 1:

Section 1 will mainly focus on the observations I have made in my work experience and the information i have found through my research during the research phase of my EPQ project.

This would mainly be stating the facts and observations of the present conditions of the Indian healthcare system. 

SECTION 2:

Section 2 will be drawing conclusions from my findings that I have presented in Section 2. 

In this section I will be talking about the effectiveness of the present systems in the health care system of India and evaluate them.

SECTION 3:

Section 3 is all about how things could be improved based on the present conditions

Problems

I cannot seem to find a book that relates to my topic. I an find a lot of research material on the internet and also other reports but I cannot find a book. 

I am trying to find a book as the assessment criteria states that I have to use a wide variety of sources as research for my project. 

I will visiting the local library at the weekend to find a book that relates to my project, maybe not specifically but at least vaguely similar such as something about the healthcare system in the UK.

Asha workers in rural India

ASHAs or Accredited social health activists are community health workers in India who are local women of a community who are trained to act as heath educators and promoters in their communities. they are female volunteers who are selected by the community, deployed in their own village after a short training programme. 

An ASHA is preferred to be between 25 and 42 years old, with a minimum of formal education of 8 years. She should be able to demonstrate leadership qualities. ASHAs do not get any salaries but they do receive activity based incentives.

The MoHFW (India's Ministry of Heath and Family Welfare) describes them as 

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...health activist(s) in the community who will create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services.

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Their responsibilities include health education in the community to the diagnosis of health conditions.

ASHA's Responsibilities

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Roles and Responsibilities of ASHA Sahayogini (ASHA HELPER)

           - Create awareness

Health, Nutrition, basic sanitation, hygienic practices, healthy living and working conditions, information on existing  health services and need for timely utilization of health, nutrition and family welfare services  

-Counseling

 Birth preparedness, importance of safe and institutional delivery, breast-feeding, immunization, contraception, prevention of RTI/STI. Nutrition and other health issues.

     - Mobilization

      Facilitate to access and avail the health services available in the      public health system at Anganwadi Centers, Sub Center, PHC ,          CHC and district hospitals.

     - Village health plan

    Work with the village Health and sanitation Committee to               develop the village health plan

     - Escorts/ Accompany

     Escorts the needy patients to the institution for care and                treatment. She will accompany the woman in labor to                      the institution    and promote institutional delivery

     -Provision of Primary Medical Health Care

    Minor ailments such as fever, first aid for minor injuries, diarrhea.      A drug kit will be provided to ASHA

    - Provider for DOTS

    - Depot Holder ORS, IFA, DDK, chloroquine, oral pills and                    condoms

    - Care of new born and management of a range of common                 ailments
    - Inform Births, deaths and unusual health problem or disease out       break

    - Promote Construction of household toilets

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My opinion:

In my opinion the ASHA Sahayogini is one of the key parts of the healthcare system in India. As the country is so vast, it is often difficult for the government health services to reach all corners of the country and to every small community there is. The aim is to have at least one Sahayogini per 1000 members of the community, which would greatly help in education people on the different diseases, infections and other health conditions and teach about sanitation and the importance of keeping healthy and clean. 

A report written by Saji Saraswathy Gopalan, Satyanarayan Mohanty, Ashis Das in the British Medical Journal (http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/5/e001557.long), shows that the service not onoutlines the "performance motivation" of the community health workers (CHWs). It concludes that "the CHW program could motivate and empower local lay women on community health largely. The desire to gain social recognition, a sense of social responsibility and self-efficacy motivated them to perform"

In my opinion the service not only provides an easier pathway for reaching all the smaller communities in the vast country but also an effective way for the national government of India to gain feedback from the people about the running of the nation's health service and further keep a tab on the birth/death rates, spread of any health conditions etc. This would really help in the control and prevention of the spread of any epidemics and also help focus specific help to specific places. For instance, if a particular community was highly susceptible to a particular type of illness, the local or state government could focus on providing specific prevention and cure for that disease and focus on funding this. This way, the community would be hugely helped and also the money would be spent efficiently, reducing waste for the community.