Understanding knots in mothers’ social ties

with child health: reflections from Indian

Sundarbans

Upasona Ghosh, Rittika Brahmachari, Shibaji Bose

HSR Cape Town, 3rd October 2014

Guiding logic behind the research

Mother’s social ties are instrumental in

resource mobilization for child health and

health care seeking

Exposure to natural calamities increases

mothers’ vulnerability and dependence upon

their social ties

Scenario worsen in case of women headed

households.

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The Sundarbans……Geographical

barriers

Frequent

climatic shocks

Sundarbans’ Health System

Challenges of Accessibility, Affordability

Acceptability and Parallel Health Market

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Accessibility Affordability

Acceptability

Parallel health

Market

To identify:

• Key community and household level

players impacting child health

seeking behavior

• Gap within the mothers’ network

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Objectives

Conceptual Framework

Mothers’ Social Network

Supportive Network Leveraging Network

Practical

Emotional

Material Cognitive

*Adapted from Adams et al., 2009

Methodology: Qualitative Social Network

Analysis

How people

perceive the network

What is the

explicit content and

meaning of ties

Tool: Participatory

Network Mapping

Study Design

Settings: Two villages of Indian Sundarbans

Respondents: Mothers having at least one 0-6years of

children with -

a) seasonal migrant husband

b) Non-migrant husband

o Sample: 20 mothers (10 from each category)

o Data analysis: Open Access Software Gephi

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Mother’s supportive network with relatives and

neighbors: Both supportive and detrimental

Mother’s cognitive network: complete dependency on

community level players greatly influence seeking

quality care

Linkages with health institutions: fading away with

increasing geographical distance

Near absence of linkage with grass root level

organizations

Conclusions:

Mothers’ with migrant husbands have more dependency on

their supportive network for material and practical

resources for child care seeking than non-migrant

counterpart

Decision making for child care seeking is completely depend

upon household level player for mothers with non-migrant

husband and community level players for mothers with

migrant husband

Gap persist with in the network between both group of

mothers and grass root level health and non-health

organizations

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Priority issues to be addressed:

1. Mothers with migrant husband should come

under alternative income generation

schemes on a priority basis

2. Household level decision making players

should be incorporated in awareness

generation and Behavioral Change Campaign

3. Initiative should be taken to strengthen

linkage between mothers and the

community based organizations

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THANK YOU

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