Morbidity Profile of Patients Reporting at a Rural Health Training Centre in a Tribal Area

Abstract

Introduction:Primary health care was defined at Alma Ata international Conference with 8 essential elements.Most of our country's population lives in rural area and it has always been a challenge to provide all these elements of Primary Health care to them especially in tribal areas. Aims & Objectives: This study was carried out to observe the morbidity profile of patients reporting in routine OPD at Rural Health Training Centre situated in a tribal area. Methods: This study was conducted at a Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC) in Palghar, Maharashtra. Data of all patients was collected for a period of one year between Jan 2019 and Dec 2019. Data was entered and analyzed using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet software. Results and Observations:A total of 25503 patients reported to OPD of Rural Health Training Centre in the study year of 2019. Out of these 72% were adults. The monthly trend of diseases showed two peaks in seasons of monsoon (predominantly AFI) and winters (mostly URTI). Conclusion: This study showed that various illnesses have seasonal variations and also there is scope for better reporting of definitive diagnoses. Such studies at regular intervals may provide a better picture in terms of health care needs of patients of tribal areas and may help upgrading services.