3.4 Perception of CHW and Dai
Another aspect of the FGD discussions that was compiled and tabulated is how Mothers and Mothers-in-law perceive ASHAs, AWWs, and Dais.
Typing “MIL” in the searchable table’s “source” column reveals that mothers-in-law are also directly recognizing the work of the ASHA. This highlights that ASHAs interact with more than just the mother herself and MILs are a part of their conversations during visits.
If one searches for ‘Cordial’ under Relationship with Dai, we find a MIL reporting that relationship between ASHA and Dai is not cordial because the Dai’s income is reduced from ASHA’s emphasis on institutional delivery. While we do not have many mentions of this reasoning, there is a curious amount of support for Dais and ASHAs having different influences on this behavior in the quantitative data.
Table 3.5: Searchable table of perceptions of ASHA
All of the services provided are inline with the ASHA’s role description.
There are some reported cases of conflict between ASHA and Dai surrounding delivery. ASHAs and AWWs are reported to work together in cooperation in most instances.
The FGDs and KIIs also collected opinions on the Anganwadi Worker (AWW)(Table 3.6). Typing “work” in the “Perception of AWW” column yields responses including perceptions of the group and individual of the AWW and her work, where most respondents recognize her work and resources she provides. The “reason” column provides specific examples of the work recognized by the mothers and MILs, which include giving advice about nutritious food. This is important to note- as it highlights that many CHWs and other health influencers are advising mothers and beneficiaries on food recommendation (see Section 3.2 Food & Diet). In contrast, typing ‘not’ into this same column reveals two instances, one by a Mother and one by a MIL, of not appreciating the AWW, seemingly for viewing her contributions as rather limited.
Table 3.6: Searchable table of perceptions of AWW
Mothers and MILs reported cordial relationships between their AWW and both Dais and ASHAs. Most participants reported that AWWs are recognized for their hard work in service-delivery such as administering vaccines and providing families with take home rations. However, a few mothers and MILs also reported that AWWs were not recognized for their work on both a group and individual level.
Lastly, we look at what these qualitative discussions revealed about perception of the Dai (3.7). Typing “position” in the “reason” column shows one of the most salient services the Dai offers for mothers and their infants: fixing the position of the baby so they are not born breached. This is in line with their traditional roles as resources for mothers similar to midwives.
Table 3.7: Searchable table of perceptions of Dai