Indian Journal of Health Social Work
(UGC Care List Journal)
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ADVANCING HEALTH EQUITY IN INDIA: THE INTERSECTION OF
SOCIAL WORK AND POLICY PRACTICE
Ngaopunii Trichao Thomas1 & Sanjoy Roy2
1Ngaopunii Trichao Thomas, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, University of Delhi.
2Prof. Sanjoy Roy, Head, Department of Social Work, University of Delhi
Correspondence: Ngaopunii Trichao Thomas, E-mail: ntthomas@socialwork.du.ac.in
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.
Keywords: Health equity, Social work, Policy practice.
INTRODUCTION
Health equity, a cornerstone of social justice
(Carter, 2023), is an essential attribute of
social justice and is still a dream for many in
India, showing sharp socio-economic
disparities. The struggle for health equity has
to be multi-pronged, where professional
practice and policy formulation must go hand
in hand (Heyman & MSW, 2018). The
following article highlights the critical
intersection of social work and policy practice
for advancing health equity in India. Deepseated social and economic inequities pose
formidable challenges for India in attaining
health equity. Socioeconomic variables of
income, education, and geography are the
dominant factors influencing health status.
Hence, the significant causes of disease and
early deaths descend upon the most
vulnerable population groups. The people of
India are spread out across a wide income
distribution curve, with a majority living below
the poverty line. Poverty is, therefore,
inextricably tied to poor health outcomes
since food, water, and waste management are strongly associated. Education plays a
fundamental role in health literacy and proper
self-care practices. Yet, educational
attainment remains unequal, with lower
literacy rates among the marginalized
populations in India. This makes it an issue
for them to independently make conscious
decisions about their health or seek accessible
healthcare services. Another important cause
of health disparities is the rural-urban divide.
The rural population usually does not have
as much access to healthcare facilities,
qualified medical professionals, or essential
medicines as their urban counterparts.
METHODS
This study uses a systematic literature review
approach to explore the India-specific
intersection of social work and policy practice
in the health equity domain. The initial focus
of our research was on specific questions
related to the role of social workers in
reducing health disparities, the socioeconomic drivers of those disparities, and how
the policy practice work can strategically
enhance health equity initiatives. This search
allowed for a systematic and comprehensive
review of the relevant literature through
academic databases with a pragmatic
approach undertaken through the use of
focused and relevant keywords across peerreviewed articles, policy documents and
scholarly reports published in the last 10
years. Inclusion criteria were applied to
extract sources directly related to health
equity in India and the contribution of social
work.
The next stage of the review was a framework
analysis approach, where relevant information
from each source was extracted and
thematically arranged issues that were
identified as socio-economic determinants, the
role of social work with respect to community
engagement and advocacy, policy
development and intersectoral collaborations.
All sources were subjected to critical appraisal
to support their academic robustness and
appropriateness. Data were synthesized and
thematically analysed to identify patterns and
coherent narratives that highlighted existing
literature gaps, focusing on a lack of empirical
evidence regarding strategy implementation,
collaborative efficacy, and integration of policy
practice within social work education. Such a
rigorous methodology lends us an excellent
basis to understand this issue based on the
current health equity landscape in India and
to demarcate the pressing need for evidencedriven, interdisciplinary practices to further
the cause of sustainable change.
RESULTS
In India, most health disparities across
different population groups are closely related
to socioeconomic disparities. The maternal
and child health indicators of the country
remain suboptimal compared to many other
countries of the world, with high rates of
maternal and infant mortality, especially
among marginalized groups (Roychowdhury
et al., 2022). There is a significant
contribution to the country’s health burden by
the emergence of non-communicable diseases
like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and
chronic respiratory diseases. Such conditions
are significantly experienced among the
poorest and most deprived populations as a
result of unhealthy lifestyle habits, unhealthy
environmental exposures, and lack of access
to services for preventive care (Prabhakaran
et al., 2017). Lastly, mental health disorders
in India are mostly under-recognized and
undertreated. The pervasive stigma around
mental health and lack of public awareness
result in obstructed help-seeking and
disastrous outcomes among people with poor
mental health, especially for the most
vulnerable groups (Tripathi & Alva, 2020).
Social workers are uniquely positioned to help
improve health equity, both through their work on the social determinants of health and
in their support of vulnerable populations.
Specialized training also allows them to play
a valuable role in some of the thorniest areas
of public health. The social work profession
participates at the local level in raising
awareness among people about their health
issues, disease prevention, and the
availability of healthcare. They help foster
trust and build rapport within vulnerable
communities to ensure timely access to care
and the adoption of healthy behaviours
(Gehlert & Browne, 2019). Social workers also
advocate for the rights of these marginalized
groups and for the development of inclusive
policies that address their health needs. This
they do through lobbying for increased access
to health services and challenging
discrimination within health systems. Most of
the time, social workers do team with the
health care services provider on ways of
delivering coordinated services by integrating
physical and mental aspects into social
dimensions. Such comprehensive services, for
example, meet clients’ specific needs,
impacting overall health equity (Islam, 2024).
Health equity is a fundamental configuration
of social justice that reflects the equal ability
of all to health services, resources, and
opportunities essential for good health.
Nonetheless, the status of health outcomes
reveals critical inequities among people in
various socioeconomic groups because of
complex interplays like caste, gender,
geography, and socioeconomic status (Prasad
& Jesani, 2018). The socioeconomic
determinants of health are the factors that
describe how the social and economic
circumstances of a person’s life influence his
or her health conditions. Some of the very
important socio-economic determinants that
affect health inequity in India would include
income. Income is one of the basic
determinants of health, as one’s ability to
purchase enough nutritious food, clean water,
proper sanitation, and access to healthcare
greatly depends on this parameter. The
connection between poverty and poorer health
is strong; economic deprivation restricts a
household’s ability to meet even just basic
needs and defend health (Nambiar &
Muralidharan, 2017). Education has stood out
as another critical determinant. It equips
persons better with knowledge, appropriate
communication skills, and even assuredness
in making health-promoting/protective
decisions and engaging further in care. There
are also inequalities in the extent of schooling
received by women, Dalits, and Adivasis in
India. Such inequalities in education
contribute to poor health literacy, thereby
decreasing the capacity to access healthcare
services appropriately (Murugan &
Manimekalai, 2019). Occupation class may
affect health through differences in on-thejob hazards, conditions of work, and physical
demands, as well as through differing levels
of access to health insurance. A large share
of the population in India is engaged in lowpaid and informal jobs, which usually lack
good safety and health provisions. Gender
roles and norms can also have a significant
bearing on health outcomes. Most women in
India suffer from discrimination in various
ways, even at the level of healthcare services.
Such discrimination often leads to a lack of
autonomy for women over their bodies and
reproductive health, adding to the high
maternal mortality rate and complications
arising due to reproductive health (Ramesh
& Bali, 2021). Caste is a deeply entrenched
social hierarchy in India, and its effects on
health outcomes remain unabated.
Discrimination based on caste may lead to
unequal access to health care services, lower
utilization of preventive care, and poor health
outcomes among marginalized caste groups.
The socio-economic equity of health in India
can only be understood by responding to these
factors’ interrelated effects on diverse populations (Borooah, 2018).
The socio-economic disparities in India reflect
numerous health inequities across different
population groups. The maternal and child
health indicators in India still compare very
unfavourably with most countries, with
unacceptably high rates of maternal and infant
mortality, particularly in disadvantaged
populations. The report by UN MMEIG 2020
states that India’s MMR has come down from
384 in the year 2000 to 103 in 2020, which is
higher than the average rate of decline for
the global level. The leading causes of
maternal death include obstetric
haemorrhage, infection related to pregnancy,
and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy.
Contributing to these disparities are poverty
issues, inadequate educational attainment,
and restricted access to healthcare services.
The burden of most NCDs, such as
cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic
respiratory conditions, is very high and
increasing in this country. According to data
from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
2022, in 2017 alone, 60% (4.7 million of all
deaths) of deaths over a total of 226.8 million
DALYs in India were under the control of NCDs
(WHO, 2019). More specifically, in 1990 it was
estimated that 37.9% of mortalities occurred
due to or because of NCD-related diseases.
These diseases mostly affect the poorer and
underprivileged sections of society and are the
result of poor lifestyle choices, bad
environmental conditions, and lack of access
to efficient prevention of such health
concerns. Equally too, the Indian healthcare
system is negligent and highly inadequate in
the management of mental health disorders.
Stigma and ignorance largely prevent
individuals from seeking care, with severe
consequences for mental health, especially in
vulnerable populations such as women,
sexual minorities, and people with disabilities
(Thapliyal, 2020). Further, the rural-urban gap
is a critical cause that exacerbates health
disparities. It is commonplace to realize more
significant barriers in accessing health
facilities, medical specialists, and prescribed
drugs among people dwelling in rural areas
as compared to their urban counterparts. In
addition, the disparity is a cause for concern
in most unpeopled and remote areas; as
indicated, the healthcare resources here are
highly limited (Baisakh, 2022).
Key Health Challenges in India
Continued health inequities in India persist
and are significantly accentuated by existing
barriers to providing access to the essential
services of healthcare for the most vulnerable
marginalized group of individuals. According
to specific rural communities, the lack of
health infrastructure, the few facilities and the
problems with transportation lead to delays
in the treatment. Like, slum dwellers living in
informal settlements miss out on access
because of poverty, documentation deficit and
systemic discrimination. It also further
perpetuates caste-based discrimination at the
healthcare level, which still deprives lower
castes of accessing healthcare, in particular
Dalits, leading to damningly poor health
outcomes. Individuals, as well as these
resulting factors, work together to exacerbate
health disparities and require targeted
interventions to increase equitable access to
services and outcomes (Bharat & Sethi, 2019).
Systemic deficiencies in India’s healthcare
quality compromise, particularly in public
facilities. The infrastructure is inadequate,
with not enough beds, obsolete medical
equipment and drug deficiency, which hamper
service delivery and lead to poor diagnosis
and sub-optimal outcomes. Pervasive staffing
shortages in rural and underserved regions
have already made dire pressures worse. The
resulting dearth of highly qualified medical
personnel strains wait times to see the doctor,
denies patients access to speciality healthcare
and undermines patient care quality. What’s more, a dearth of education among
healthcare providers in underserved
communities in situations of marginalized
individuals will often lead to misdiagnosis and
incorrect treatment of diseases specific to
these individuals, therefore undermining
health equity (Ramesh & Bali, 2023).
Cultural and social determinants create
serious impediments to healthcare access and
use in India because societal norms and
beliefs constitute deep barriers. Gender
discrimination deprives women of their
autonomy over their health, allowing them
lesser access to services and its
consequences, including long delays in care,
limited ability for reproductive control and
elevated maternal mortality. In addition,
people suffering from certain health
conditions, such as HIV and AIDS, mental
illness and leprosy, suffer from pervasive
stigma that discourages them from seeking
timely medical advice as well as potential
social assistance. Traditional beliefs and
practices also play a huge role, and a big
conflict is between what the old and rural
people believe and say and what modern
medicine says and what they are supposed to
do, which gets delayed or fought and aborted,
mainly among those who are very old or are
in rural areas. The combined effect of societal
and cultural interplay is exerted within
interwoven barriers to further describe the
complexity of health equity in India. These are
the major challenges in the attainment of
health equity in India. Each of these requires
a holistic approach to be mounted with regard
to access to quality health services,
infrastructure of healthcare facilities, social
determinants of health, and sociocultural
barriers to healthcare-seeking behaviour
(Nambiar & Muralidharan, 2017).
DISCUSSION
The Role of Social Work in Advancing Health
Equity in India
Social workers represent a key force for
change in health equity within an Indian
context; hence, they apply specialized training
through their multi-faceted role to address the
social determinants of health, determine
specific needs that differ among different
populations, and advocate for systemic reform
aimed at improvements in the health of all
citizens. Addressing Social Determinants of
Health Social workers are particularly
prepared to understand and address social
determinants of health-the social and
economic factors that impact health outcomes.
In India, toward the creation of a plan of
action to address these determinants, social
workers undertake several interventions:
Social workers engage in community outreach
programs that aim to educate people about
health concerns, disease prevention methods,
and available facilities within the healthcare
system. Their work targets tackling health
illiteracy, advocating for life-healthy
behaviours, and making people responsible
for themselves over health matters. Case
management services provided by the social
worker are meant to direct individual clients
and their family cases dealing with multiple
adversities with health complications in
livelihood. They assist active participants in
accessing services that are relevant and
available to them. Sometimes, they assist
these needy persons in developing an
integrative care plan for improving their living
standards regarding their social, economic as
well as health conditions. Social workers are
very active in advocating for policies that
would address social determinants of health.
They work with policymakers to prioritize
funding for healthcare, education, housing,
and other social services critical to improving
health outcomes for diverse populations
(Thomas, 2024).
India’s social workers are vital for identifying
and satisfying the multitude of health needs
of India’s diverse and distinct society with diverse cultural, linguistic and socio-economic
categories of people. Social workers are
trained specifically to identify the particular
challenges faced by vulnerable populations,
including Dalits, Adivasis, LGBTQ+ people,
women, children, and persons with disabilities
who face greater discrimination and barriers
to receiving healthcare on account of systemic
issues. Covering advocacy around such
communities’ human rights as well as
specialized targeted services addressing the
particular health needs related to gender
discrimination, reproductive health, nutritional
deficiencies and disabilities, and active
engagement in addressing the systemic
inequalities so as to achieve equitable health
outcomes in a range of populations. Speaking
to social justice and advocacy principles,
social work practice works to cajole the larger
system towards bringing about change
towards stemming the root causes of health
inequities in India. Evidence of practice for
social work goes into evidence-based policy
advocacy to influence decision-makers on
health equity and resource allocation to
directly challenge discriminatory practices that
sustain inequalities in marginalized groups.
They are also invaluable in the area of
community empowerment by supporting
community-led initiatives and partnerships
that catalyse sustainable change and
empower communities to advocate for their
own health needs. These integrated functions
and unique training allow social workers to
work on the social determinants of health,
understand the needs of many populations
differently, and are important agents in
building a just and equitable healthcare
system for everyone (Nayak & Robbins, 2018).
Key Areas of Intervention for Social Work in
Advancing Health Equity in India.
Community Outreach and Education
Social workers play a pivotal role in
community outreach initiatives aimed at
educating individuals about health issues,
disease prevention, and available healthcare
resources. Social workers encourage
vulnerable populations to seek timely medical
care by fostering trust and rapport with
community members. Social workers organize
and participate in health education campaigns
designed to raise awareness regarding
prevalent health concerns, such as
malnutrition, infectious diseases, and noncommunicable diseases. Utilizing a variety of
channels—including community meetings,
workshops, and social media. They
disseminate accurate health information to
enhance public understanding. Community
Mobilization: Social workers facilitate
community mobilization efforts that empower
individuals to take ownership of their health
and well-being. Organizing community
meetings, establishing health committees,
and supporting community-led initiatives
promote healthy practices and improve access
to essential healthcare services (Choolayil &
Diwakar, 2024).
Advocacy for Marginalized Groups
Social workers are highly instrumental in
ensuring that the voices of marginalised
populations are heard by advocating to
influence the formulation of inclusive policies
addressing their healthcare needs. It involves
working at local, state, and national levels to
create policy advocacy to influence and
convince decision-makers to move toward
addressing the health concerns of these
marginalized groups. They support their
initiatives in policy implementation to promote
access to health care, reduce discrimination,
and advance health equity by using research,
data, and evidence-based practice. Social
workers provide legal services and support
to vulnerable individuals and groups with
barriers to accessing health care. Social
workers assist the client in understanding the
legal process; they may draft and file a complaint of discrimination and assist the
client in advocating to have his or her rights
protected. Social workers empower poor
communities through their organization and
advocacy around health needs. They would
train community members in skills advocacy
and mobilize people to take collective action
and demand better healthcare services and
policies (Kuttiatt et al., 2025).
Integrated Service Delivery
Social workers and healthcare providers must
collaborate to deliver integrated services that
address physical, mental, and social health
needs. The social worker actively collaborates
with physicians, nurses, psychologists, and
other health professionals in developing
integrated care plans to address the
biopsychosocial needs of the clients. They
facilitate communications between various
healthcare providers so that information and
the services provided can flow smoothly from
one point to another. Social workers support
persons or families with complicated illnesses
in the case management process through
referral, linking them to the various relevant
services. They help their clientele interact with
the health sector and obtain resources, and
further help create an integrated care
package that meets the social, financial, and
health needs of the patient and his or her
family (Stanhope & Straussner, 2018).
Mental Health Support
It also remains a very important yet highly
neglected feature of health equity in India.
Social workers play an influential role in
providing counselling and support services to
persons who are at risk owing to mental
health challenges. Social workers give
individual and group counselling to the
mentally ill. Evidence-based therapeutic
approaches for helping clients manage their
symptoms to learn to cope better in order to
improve their lives. Social workers work
toward increasing awareness about good
mental health in the community, reducing the
stigma that comes with having mental
illnesses. Through the use of media, meetings
with community leaders, or workshops, they
raise public awareness regarding issues on
mental health and encourage people to come
forward for help (Ginneken et al., 2017).
The Role of Policy Practice in Advancing
Health Equity in India
Health equity promotion in India involves
appropriately adopting policies that take the
challenge of reducing systemic barriers to
accessing health care. Policy practice,
embracing everything from advocacy and
development through the evaluation of health
policies themselves, is essential in giving form
to a fair and more equal health system. Policy
Advocacy Social workers are at the forefront
of policy advocacy, which is a very vital factor
in eliciting change in the conception and
execution of health policy promoting equity.
Social workers carry out extensive research
and data collection on health disparities and
root causes of health inequities. A rigorous
analysis of policy proposals is done to examine
the potential impact on marginalized
populations and inform evidence-based
advocacy. Social workers, through their
studies, develop evidence-based policy
recommendations to help reduce health
disparities and increase equity. Such
recommendations are then addressed to
policymakers, government officials, and other
relevant stakeholders to elicit systemic
change. Social workers engage in lobbying
and advocacy to persuade policymakers to
pass policies that support health equity. They
build relationships with policymakers, testify
in front of legislative committees, and work
to garner public will for changes that promote
health equity (Yang, 2024).
Policy Development
Apart from advocacy, social workers are also
important in the development of health
policies and programs. Social workers work
with policymakers and other stakeholders to
draft new health policies and programs. They
add depth to that drawn from social work
practice, empirical research, and community
assessment to ensure that policies reflect an
inclusive approach to addressing health
needs. Social workers facilitate the
implementation process of health policies and
programs in concert with community
organizations, health providers, and other
partners. From that perspective, their
involvement ensures that efforts reach target
populations and intended health outcomes
(Chapin & Lewis, 2023).
Policy Evaluation
The evaluations of health policies and
programs are other important areas where
large contributions come from social workers;
their roles in this area also include measuring
outcomes. These are designed and then
applied by the social worker for the execution
of mechanisms that measure outcomes
regarding the effect of health policy and
programs on health equity. They collect data
on health outcomes, service utilization, and
other relevant indicators in order to track the
progress and identify further scope for
improvement. Through the systematic
analysis of policy outcomes, social workers
identify factors that help or hinder the success
of health initiatives. They put forward
evidence-based recommendations for the
revision of policies that would enhance the
effectiveness of health equity efforts (McDavid
et al., 2018).
Collaboration and Partnerships
Good policy practice to achieve health equity
has a strong need for collaborative and
strategic partnerships across diverse sectors.
Government agencies, through social workers,
engage with government agencies responsible
for health policy formulation and program
development and also work with social
workers who use their evidence-based
research and expertise to lobby for policies
that promote health equity. NGOs are critical
for working to implement health equity
initiatives, particularly because they are a
source of important community input as well
as a supportive community action network for
needed policy reform. Moreover, community
organization partnerships are crucial so that
the voices and needs of underrepresented
people are listened to in policy discourse, and
so that community participation in policy
development and evaluation can improve
policy relevance and effectiveness of health
interventions (White-Williams et al., 2022).
Areas of Policy Focus for Health Equity in India
Universal Health Coverage
India’s progress towards Universal Health
Coverage (UHC) that ensures equal access to
essential health services at little or no cost
has been made steadily. Through their daily
face-to-face interactions with underserved
populations, social workers provide valuable
information that informs public policy around
UHC discourse. Key areas of focus for social
work advocacy within the UHC framework
include the expansion of health insurance
coverage to encompass currently excluded
populations, the reduction of regressive outof-pocket health expenditures through
mechanisms such as increased government
subsidies and price controls on essential
medicines, and the strategic enhancement of
access to healthcare facilities, particularly in
rural and underserved regions, through
infrastructure development and the
deployment of qualified healthcare
professionals (Ravindran & Seshadri, 2018) .
Public Health Infrastructure
In India, strengthening public health infrastructure and advocating and supporting
social workers to change policy and practice
is vital in the struggle to achieve health equity,
and this hitherto overlooked domain deserves
increased investment. Particularly, social
workers strive to guarantee policies that
ensure the modernization and improvement
of a range of health institutions; especially
those situated in rural and poorly serviced
settings, essentially to guarantee that these
institutions have spacious machines of the
highest standard in storage, details, and wellimproved maintenance system for flawless
practise of health within all the institutions.
In addition, they promote policies to broaden
healthcare workforce training, particularly in
areas of significant shortages, especially in
rural areas, and include professionals such
as physicians, nurses, and community health
workers. Social workers are also essential
since they are able to advocate for policies
and laws that will help in building strong health
information systems. They know that strong
health information systems are very important
in monitoring health trends and evaluating the
effectiveness of their interventions through
good data collection, appropriate analysis and
use of good health data (Kaur, 2020).
Social Determinants of Health
We know the deep impact the social
determinants of health play in determining
one’s health outcomes, from education to
housing to employment, and it is on that
foundation that we are advancing health
equity. Advocating for and shaping policy
framing those broader societal factors, social
workers are a critical part of the equation. In
particular, they are particularly dedicated to
seeing education get all the attention,
especially in tutoring girls and marginalized
groups, since their statistics showed that
education is strongly correlated with better
health, such as decreased infant mortality
and higher life expectancy. Moreover, social
workers support policies intended to enhance
housing conditions and ameliorate the
injurious health consequences of substandard
and dangerous housing through measures of
housing affordability, availability, improved
sanitation and decreased residential density.
They promote employment creation, especially
for those facing systems barriers to
employment, given the association between
unemployment, poverty and poor health. Datadriven research informs social workers and
contributes to creating effective healthcare
interventions through data generated. Social
workers do crucial work through research to
explore and understand health disparities,
discern the origins of health disparities that
lead to health inequities, and gauge the
impact of health interventions. Additionally,
social workers help bridge the gap between
research and policy by presenting findings at
conferences and publishing research in
academic journals so policymakers can use
research evidence to assist in their policy
decision-making. Social workers also end up
monitoring and evaluating immunity and giving
back to policymakers on how policies work or
recommending changes to improve healthcare
outcomes. Social workers help develop and
implement such policies that contribute to the
advancement of health equity and its
concomitant improvement of health outcomes
for all Indians through these key policy focus
areas (Alphonse et al., 2008).
Collaboration Between Social Work and
Policy Practice for Health Equity in India
The promotion of health equity in India may
be possible through engendering a very
formidable alliance between social work and
policy practice. Such may require close
collaboration between the social workers and
policymakers as well as professionals in the
public health sectors to make it to a national
comprehensive development strategy aimed
at eliminating health disparities and improving
health outcomes of the marginalized
populations. As such, strategic approaches
also have great potential for promoting
effective collaboration between social workers
and policymakers for promoting health equity.
Policymakers should engage with social
workers to identify the needs of marginalized
populations, and social workers should share
how such populations garner food, using policy
briefs and reports as vehicles for providing
actionable recommendations for policy
changes. Additionally, social workers can
create testimony and presentations to
legislative hearings and policy forums to enact
policy choices, utilizing first-hand experiential
knowledge of systemic barriers and
advocating for policy alterations in an effort
to address health inequities. Also,
collaboration and partnership with other
organizations can increase the social workers’
voices and the social workers’ ability to affect
policymakers and, as a result, lead to more
significant and potential long-term
improvements for health equity (Choolayil &
Diwakar, 2024).
Community voices in participatory research
can add strength to the evidence base for
articulating policy advocacy. Participatory
research processes prioritize marginalized
communities at the core of the research
agenda. Channelling of community
participation in data collection and analysis
by social workers allows research to truly
reflect people’s actual experiences. Holistic
approaches to health equity can only occur if
social work, public health, and policy analysis
must go hand in hand. Therefore,
interdisciplinary teams may invent solutions
to difficult health challenges that require a
multi-dimensional approach. This research
will enable social workers to contribute to
interdisciplinary research and policy
development ventures around knowledge of
social determinants of health, community
engagement, and advocacy. In fact, the
number of social workers has indeed
increased as a result of the strengthening of
the social workers’ capacity in policy advocacy
and research issues training programs. For
example, the need for curriculum
incorporation of policy practice as an integral
part of schooling beyond the undergraduate
stage at higher education institutions training
social work students such that when they
leave the institution to take on this role this
critical function sits on their list of work
responsibilities. As with the training programs
offered, policy analysis, means of advocacy,
as well as research methods, are
incorporated into the training programs
offered (Monaco et al., 2021).
The convergence of social work and policy
practice can bring substantial gains to social
work practice for promoting health equity in
India, for example, by increasing policy
impact, evidence-based policy-making and
sustainable solutions. Collaboration helps
social workers gain invaluable insights into the
needs of marginalized populations and helps
policymakers facilitate access from the
decision-makers and resources to enhance
the scale of social work interventions.
Additionally, participatory research and
interdisciplinary collaboration can enhance the
evidence base for policy-making and create
social work and policy partnerships to invent
and craft the policies and policy choices that
draw sustenance from best practice and
encompass systemic factors for health
disparities leading to sustainable health
solutions for the marginalized populations
(Drisko & Grady, 2012).
CONCLUSION
Addressing health inequity in India, therefore,
requires a collaborative effort wherein the
best of social work practice is combined with
policy practice. The efforts of the allied forces
to ensure equity in access to health services
and break all socioeconomic barriers will lead the efforts of social workers and policymakers
toward paving the way for an equitable
healthcare system. While community outreach
advocacy and service integration that social
workers do are immensely important, sound
policy practice would ensure healthcare
reforms are sustainable and inclusive in
nature. A call toward collaboration across
such domains, participatory research, and
capacity building to support data-informed
policy goes a long way in fostering health
equity. Such combined efforts are bound to
ensure that the people of India, irrespective
of the social determinants, will get equal
access to quality healthcare services.
Future research and potential innovative
approaches to addressing health inequities
Future research endeavours at addressing
health inequities in India need to be multi and
multidisciplinary in nature and focus on
participatory research methodology,
collaborative approach in an interdisciplinary
space, advocacy of policies, technological
innovations and cultural competence. In terms
of studies, that includes experimenting with
specializing community engagement through
digital platforms and the use of mobile health
units, alongside models for integrated service
delivery that combine in one place healthcare,
social services and policy practice.
Investigating the role of policy advocacy
training in social work education, assessing
the efficacy of technological innovations, and
evaluating the sustainability and scalability of
joint efforts with the social workforce,
policymakers and healthcare providers are all
necessary. Robust evaluations of policy
interventions, culturally sensitive
interventions, and longitudinal studies of the
outcomes of these approaches will lend
themselves to a comprehensive understanding
of solving complex health inequities in India
that will inform evidence-based policymaking
and promote health equity in India.
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Conflict of interest: None
Role of funding source: None
ISSN: 2582-1393 (Online)