Linking Small-Scale Commercial Activities and Women's Health: The Jamu System in Urban Areas of Java, Indonesia

SummaryIndia has a strong base of ancient indigenous systems of medicine and its national health policies and programmes have consistently promoted the integration of Indian Systems of Medicine (ISM) into the country’s official health system. Realizing the safety and efficacy of ISM drugs, the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy (ISM&H) has suggested their use for certain women’s health problems and during pregnancy. Although the Government of India has attempted to integrate ISM through the country’s contemporary health programme of Reproductive and Child Health (RCH), utilization dynamics from the clients’ perspective is little understood. This study shows that, at least in urban areas, for the majority of women’s health problems biomedicine is regarded as the first choice, failure of which leads clients to seek treatment from ISM as a final resort. Nevertheless, women showed a preference for ISM treatment for certain specific health problems, strongly backed by a belief in their efficacy. Of the predictors that positively influenced women’s choice of ISM treatment, ‘strong evidenced-based results’ was found to be the most important. Women’s preference for ISM is dependent on the availability of competent providers.

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Exploring Health Professionals’ Perceptions of Husbands’ Responsibilities in Muslim Women’s Health

Nurse Media Journal of Nursing ◽

10.14710/nmjn.v11i1.33852 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 24-34

Author(s):

Restuning Widiasih ◽

Katherine Nelson

Keyword(s):

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Study Data ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Rural And Urban Areas ◽

Rural And Urban ◽

Qualitative Descriptive ◽

And Behavior

Background: The husband has an important role in women's health. However, the information related to their roles is limited, including from the perspectives of health professionals. The health professionals' support and behavior have influenced men's and women's health behavior. Purpose: This study aimed to determine the health professionals’ perceptions of husbands’ roles and behavior in women's health, especially in the Muslim community.Methods: A qualitative descriptive approach applied in this study. Data were collected using the interview method. Ten clinicians from rural and urban areas of West Java, Indonesia, with a range of experience engaging with Muslim husbands involved in this study. Semi-structured interviews were recorded and then transcribed by the researchers. The transcribed data were analyzed using the comparative analysis for the interview technique.Results: Four main themes were identified: (1) Contextual factors impact husbands' roles in women's health; (2) Extensive roles of Muslim husbands in women's health; (3) Husbands and others involved in decisions about women's health; and (4) Level of health literacy affects husband's actions in women's health and cancer.Conclusion: Health professionals perceived that husbands' roles in Muslim women's health are pivotal, especially in supporting health treatments in health services. Little information was obtained about husbands' support in cancer prevention and early detection. Nurses can take the lead in improving Muslim husbands' understanding of women's health and cancer and raising their awareness of cancer screening for their wives.

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Isolation in COVID, and COVID in Isolation—Exacerbated Shortfalls in Provision for Women's Health and Well-Being Among Marginalized Urban Communities in India

Frontiers in Global Women's Health ◽

10.3389/fgwh.2021.769292 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Lakshmi K. Josyula ◽

Shrutika Murthy ◽

Himabindu Karampudi ◽

Surekha Garimella

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Women’S Health ◽

Women's Health ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Access To Health Care ◽

Well Being ◽

Health Seeking ◽

The Impact ◽

Health And Well Being ◽

Waste Pickers

This paper describes the lived experiences of health seeking, health care recourse, and well-being of women waste pickers, a highly marginalized sub-population in urban areas in India, highlighting the intersectionality of gender, socioeconomic and cultural contexts, and occupational hazards that they face, as studied by a research team engaged in participatory action research with waste workers in urban India. We note the impact of the superimposition of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the restrictions on movement and access to livelihoods, social support, and health care, and policies made and enforced in a fragmented manner, on the already deprived conditions of the waste pickers. We reflect on the women waste pickers' practices of health seeking, their access to health care, the provisions made for them and made use of by them, and the support they could tap in protecting and restoring their health. A range of these experiences is illustrated through three case studies. Finally, recommendations are made for better provision for women's health and well-being, and improved preparedness for emergency situations.

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