ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY IN INDIA: THE INTERSECTION OF SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY PRACTICE abstract

This paper examines the pivotal moment of how social work has become a policy practice for improving equitable health in a contrarily socioeconomically atypical state such as India. The Government of India addresses the dynamic health issues of poor accessibility of health care services for the people of that country and the problems due to diverse cultural and social factors. This paper proposes that in light of grave institutional gaps, the much-promoted services of social workers should play a crucial role in strengthening both community outreach and service provision support through effective translation. It also points to the role of policy practice in meeting the needs for policies promoting universal health coverage, improving infrastructure at a public health level, and dealing with social determinants of health. This paper, therefore, calls upon social work and policy practices in terms of their responsibility for a call to collaborate, putting forward some of the strategies that may involve engagement with policymakers, participatory research, and an interdisciplinary approach. It argues for the need to advance health equity in the country by assuring maximum utilization of strengths from social work and policy practice in discarding systemic barriers that stand in the way of such inclusive policy and ensuring proper access to healthcare by all people.