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“We are everyone's ASHAs but who's there for us?” a qualitative exploration of perceptions of work stress and coping among rural frontline workers in Madhya Pradesh, India

Author

Listed:
  • Shrivastava, Ritu
  • Sharma, Lochan
  • Jolly, Mehak
  • Ahuja, Romi
  • Sharma, Radhika
  • Naslund, John A.
  • Agrawal, Jyotsna
  • Shidhaye, Rahul
  • Mehrotra, Seema
  • Hollon, Steve D.
  • Patel, Vikram
  • Tugnawat, Deepak
  • Kumar, Ananth
  • Bhan, Anant
  • Bondre, Ameya P.

Abstract

More than a million female village-level lay providers called ‘Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)’, who deliver primary care, face high levels of stress due to work demands and low compensation, within the context of poverty and gender inequality. Evidence on ASHAs has focused on workplace challenges from a system perspective, without sufficient probing into individual-level stress. This study aims to gain perspectives into the experiences of work stress, the related health symptoms, and the responses to stress among ASHAs in India.

Suggested Citation

  • Shrivastava, Ritu & Sharma, Lochan & Jolly, Mehak & Ahuja, Romi & Sharma, Radhika & Naslund, John A. & Agrawal, Jyotsna & Shidhaye, Rahul & Mehrotra, Seema & Hollon, Steve D. & Patel, Vikram & Tugnawa, 2023. "“We are everyone's ASHAs but who's there for us?” a qualitative exploration of perceptions of work stress and coping among rural frontline workers in Madhya Pradesh, India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 336(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:336:y:2023:i:c:s0277953623005919
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116234
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Steege, Rosalind & Taegtmeyer, Miriam & McCollum, Rosalind & Hawkins, Kate & Ormel, Hermen & Kok, Maryse & Rashid, Sabina & Otiso, Lilian & Sidat, Mohsin & Chikaphupha, Kingsley & Datiko, Daniel Gemec, 2018. "How do gender relations affect the working lives of close to community health service providers? Empirical research, a review and conceptual framework," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 1-13.
    2. Benjamin Saunders & Julius Sim & Tom Kingstone & Shula Baker & Jackie Waterfield & Bernadette Bartlam & Heather Burroughs & Clare Jinks, 2018. "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1893-1907, July.
    3. Sung Yae Shin & Sang Gyu Lee, 2016. "Effects of Hospital Workers’ Friendship Networks on Job Stress," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(2), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Mehtabul Azam, 2012. "A distributional analysis of social group inequality in rural India," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 415-432, May.
    5. Mosse, David, 2018. "Caste and development: Contemporary perspectives on a structure of discrimination and advantage," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 422-436.
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    Cited by:

    1. Ameya P. Bondre & Spriha Singh & Abhishek Singh & Aashish Ranjan & Azaz Khan & Lochan Sharma & Dinesh Bari & G Sai Teja & Laxmi Verma & Mehak Jolly & Payal Pandit & Radhika Sharma & Ritu Dangi & Romi , 2025. "Evaluation of a Positive Psychological Intervention to Reduce Work Stress among Rural Community Health Workers in India: Results from a Randomized Pilot Study," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1-48, March.
    2. Patel, Sakshi & Tandon, Puneet, 2025. "Challenges in data documentation and retrieval in the ASHA diary from a usability perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 382(C).

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