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Weighted Mean Distance ? An Index to Measure Suitability of Geographical Location of PHCs

Rajendra D. Patil, Dr. Arun Kumar Dwivedi

The establishment of Primary Health Centres in India started as early as in 1952, and over the last six decades it has undergone several changes to meet the increasing demand for health care services. Until the eighth Five Year Plan, the emphasis was on the expansion of the health care establishment. However, during the eighth and subsequent plans the emphasis was mainly on consolidation of existing health infrastructure rather than on expansion. The trust has been on qualitative improvement in the health services through strengthening of physical facilities like provision of essential equipment, and consumables, construction of buildings and staff quarters, of medical and paramedical staff and in-service training of staff. The location of the primary health center with respect to the various villages in its functional area is an important aspect. Its suitability in this context depends upon the transport infrastructure in the region. In this paper a study is conducted of all the primary health centers of Dhule taluka of Dhule district of Maharashtra state of India. The weighted mean distance is proposed as an index. The parameter “weighted mean distance indices” are compared with the “composite indices” for the different primary health centers, which are based on different technical and social dimensions. This parameter may be used for redistribution of villages among the primary health centers or introduction of new primary health centers to support the increasing population in villages.