Examining the relationship between motivation and incentives in the context of maternal health awareness: A study of Asha workers in Uttarakhand

Abstract

ASHA workers have been facing deprivation in the context of remuneration. The incentive paid to the ASHA workers is not sufficient for the amount of work ASHA workers are performing in the fields tirelessly. Several newspapers like The Times of India, Deccan Herald, and The Hindu etc., have covered the issues that ASHA workers have raised despite their dedication towards their services. ASHA workers have also gone for strikes citing their poor conditions. Jain et al. (2022) have constructed an earnings projection model and incentive structure that affect the motivation of community health workers. The ground-level issues pertain to challenges such as lack of motivation due to less incentive for the tasks performed.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Community health workers continued to provide services ranging from vaccinations to folic tablets to pregnant women. This paper discusses the plight of the community health workers (ASHA) in the select villages of Bageshwar district in Uttarakhand. The cross-sectional study was conducted from Feb 2021 to Aug 2023 in Bilonasera, Kathayatbara, and Manyura Mafi of Bageshwar districts. The field study discusses the narratives of the challenges and issues faced by grassroots-level workers. The study highlights the case –studies of the issues faced by the community health workers. Further, content analysis of the newspapers was done to explore the issue and reach the investigation. The study also presents recommendations on reforms in the wage structure and benefits to the accredited social health activists (ASHA).