Fewer women covered by Aarogyasri

Hyderabad: Access to healthcare continues to be a challenge for women despite the availability of free schemes like Aarogyasri. A study of 1.9 crore households in undivided AP found that more men opted for treatment. The study, published in BMJ Open, was carried out by researchers at the George Institute for Global Health in India and University of Oxford. 

The researchers studied data on hospitalisations between 2008 and 2012 and found that fewer young women, adolescent girls and elderly women were hospitalised when compared to men in the same age groups. 

Of the 12,23,723 hospitalisations, 48 per cent were women. Of the 7.7 million bed days, women patients accounted for 47 per cent. Of the total hospital expenditure $579.3 million (about Rs 3,976 crore at current rates), only 42 per cent was spent on woman, the data showed.

Gender-specific conditions like those of reproduction, urinary tract infections and other problems accounted for 27 per cent the hospitalization. The findings were for 14 diseases notified by Aarogyasri.

Prof. Vivekanand Jha, who was a part of the team collating the data, said, “The data shows that the problems of women and young girls are not being given importance when compared to men. Despite a free insurance scheme, it is male members of the household who are seeking quality treatment in public healthcare units. This gender inequality needs to be addressed.”

The findings come at a time when norms for Ayushman Bharat or the universal healthcare scheme is being finalised. It becomes very important that essential healthcare services must be accessible to women and girls. This does not mean only reproductive health but also health issues of teenage girls and elderly women must be addressed and that awareness has to be created, experts said.