Literacy And Health Awareness Among Tribal Women In North Coastal Districts Of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Tribal women are mostly illiterate and Socially and economically back word. A significant percentage of indigenous tribal women continue to employ home remedies and seek out traditional medicine practitioners/healers. If they are not healed, they seek treatment at private facilities. Inaccessibility, lack of facilities, personnel and their behavior, inconvenient visiting hours, and sickness state were highlighted as barriers to health seeking behavior among Indian tribes while visiting hospitals. Personal problems such as fear of losing daily earnings, cultural beliefs, cost, illiteracy, and unacceptability are also present. Over the years, the lack of maternal health awareness has caused several health concerns, including anemia, neural tube defects , tetanus infection, immunodeficiency syndrome, and even perinatal deaths. Poverty, illiteracy, meagre living conditions, lack of personal hygiene and poor health-seeking behaviour are known to be highly prevalent among these tribes. Further, early age at marriage, consanguinity, high parity and other behavioural factors among women in these tribal communities make them susceptible to sexually transmitted infections (STIs).