Grant Amount: US$ 10,250

Keywords: GENDER, EQUITY, HEALTH, CAPACITY BUILDING, HIV/AIDS, INDIA

Geographic coverage: India

Objective

The objective of this project is to design and evaluate a web-based education and health information tool targeting rural women in Tamil Nadu, India.

Research context

This project addresses the United Nations charter for improving the health and social welfare of women in developing countries through education. The project designed, tested and implemented an information technology (IT)-based women education and health information dissemination pilot targeting rural women in the Tiruchirapalli District of Tamil Nadu, India. The project uses existing education infrastructure to demonstrate the economic viability and the social benefits of such a programme in a developing country with complex social and religious interrelationships. A charitable educational institution, the Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College for Women (SRCW), Tiruchirapalli served as a focal point to educate and disseminate information to rural women.

Target beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of this project are rural women of Tamil Nadu, India, ten rural schools and ten government schools run by the Tiruchirapalli Corporation.

Outputs

• A research report on social, health and education issues facing the target population and alternative strategies for solutions;
• A health information website operating through SRCW to disseminate relevant information to participants and other interested parties;
• A practical training module for disseminating information to participants; and
• A network of volunteers and social service organizations to provide ongoing support.

Research results and outcomes

This project was carried out in three phases. The first phase involved a survey in 25 villages and five private schools to assess the level of awareness of health issues such as prenatal care, postnatal care and HIV/AIDS and the importance of school education for students in the target area. Using this information the project developed IT tools for dissemination of information and tested them in the villages and schools. In the second phase the IT tools were modified based on feedback received in phase one. Using the tools, information was disseminated to women and children in about 25 villages that had high school dropout rates and low health awareness, and to young women from two different colleges. The final phase involved coordination with the government for project sustainability.

The pilot has been successful in meeting and surpassing its objectives of raising ICT awareness among young female students in target areas. The project targeted a population in excess of 50,000 in 39 villages and two suburbs of Trichy town. Over 1,000 women from 25 villages participated in various stages of the programme. SRCW trained a group of approximately 200 rural girl students. These results indicate a high, intangible return on investment although the project does note that it is difficult to quantify the impact it has had. The impact can be qualitatively assessed from the response of the participants, which show the project is having a significant impact on raising the awareness of women in these villages. The project notes that those who attend such programmes further spread the message through word of mouth and other informal channels creating a ripple effect that is difficult to quantify.

The project gave the researchers and students insight into where ICTs will work and where they will not. The project notes that women’s ability to access health information is impeded by poverty, lack of education, lack of knowledge and resources, social systems, religious beliefs and a variety of other social, economic and political factors. The project sees that the solution to this problem is beyond what a small IT-based project (such as this one) can solve. IT tools can however play a significant role in distilling information and disseminating it at a reasonable cost, thus providing an effective tool for combating social problems in rural communities. The project felt that a micro-system with local community ownership could be a forerunner to similar ones in other parts of India. Subsequent to this project, the researchers proposed to communicate these findings to State Government authorities and to discuss strategies for further implementation. The researchers note that one year was probably too short a time to make a substantial impact.

Project Duration

Start Date: July 2003
End Date: July 2004
Total Duration: 13 Months

Contact information

Dr. V. S. Venkatesan
University of Western Australia Graduate School of Management
23 Caporn Street, Nedlands 6009 WA, Australia
Telephone/Fax: +61 8 9386 8765
Email: vvenkate@ecel.uwa.edu.au

Website: http://www.gsm.uwa.edu.au