Foot soldiers of the pandemic: the role of frontline health workers in building community healthcare resilience in rural Karnataka

Madon, Shirin ORCID: 0000-0002-4497-2165 and Krishna, S. (2025) Foot soldiers of the pandemic: the role of frontline health workers in building community healthcare resilience in rural Karnataka. Oxford Development Studies. ISSN 1360-0818 (In Press)

	Text (ODS MAIN DOCUMENT REVISION) - Accepted Version Pending embargo until 1 January 2100. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (359kB)
	Text (Tables) - Accepted Version Pending embargo until 1 January 2100. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (125kB)
	Text (Supplementary files) - Accepted Version Pending embargo until 1 January 2100. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (373kB)
	Text (Figures) - Accepted Version Pending embargo until 1 January 2100. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (155kB)

Abstract

Recent crises have affected the health and well-being of rural communities in many low-and-middle income countries (LMICs) focusing attention on building resilience to better withstand and recover from shocks. Drawing on an institutional perspective, this paper analyses how the role, function and participation of frontline health workers in rural India in the years prior to COVID-19 have shaped the conduct of village health governance structures during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Our study combines observational data from village health committees in Karnataka with rich narrative accounts from health workers. We showcase the historical influences that have shaped the functioning of village health committees to sustain both routine health priorities and COVID-19 activities before, during and in the aftermath of the pandemic. Our study holds broader implications for how the actions of frontline health workers may lead to building community healthcare resilience.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2025 The Author
Divisions:	International Development
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2025 14:15
Last Modified:	23 Jun 2025 14:57
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128532

Actions (login required)

View Item