Utilization of health services and RCH status in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh state with a population of about 200 millions is the India’s most populous state and accounts for 16% of the country’s population and about 9% of geographical area. The state is divided into four distinct regions and 71 districts.
The study examine the variation in the utilization of RCH services viz. antenatal care, safe deliveries, child immunization, and reproductive & child health status in the districts of Uttar Pradesh. The district level analysis is carried out for all districts as recorded in DLSH-3 (2007-08). Different composite indices are computed to study the pattern of socio-economic development, availability of health facilities, utilization of RCH services and reproductive and child health status in the districts of Uttar Pradesh state. All districts are ranked according to the values of these indices and GIS maps are also prepared.
The study reveals that utilization of health services and social development depicts strong negative relation with reproductive morbidities. Overall, reproductive and child health are highly and positively associated with utilization of RCH services, and quality of services. It clearly demonstrates that districts having higher utilization of RCH services, better quality of services also have relatively better reproductive and child health.