HEALTH AS THE BROADER ISSUE
In the recent past, attention of sociologists has shifted away from purely demographic and reproductive health issues to broader health issues. Implementation of National Rural Health Mision and Janani Suraksha Yojana have raised new issues:
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Social representations of health
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Health choices, i.e., what combination of health facilities are used by people in different circumstances – allopathic or bio-medical, homeopathy, Ayurvedic, Yunani, Siddh, local herbal remedies, and magic and other traditional practices
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Quality of services
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Factors affecting institutional deliveries
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Postpartum haemorrhage and other determinants of maternal deaths such as transport facilities
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Access to and quality of services
Government of India has gone for public-private-partnership in health in a big way. Public and private systems have their own strengths and weaknesses. Studies are needed to explore what combinations of the two are good for society and what ways of delivering health services need to be developed to have optimal benefits.
ISSUES BEYOND HEALTH AND REPRODUCTION
Starting with the issue of the estimation of birth and death rates in the second half of the twentieth century, population studies are shifting towards issues of empowerment and emancipation, particularly in the context of studies of reproductive behaviour and RTI/STI. Yet, there are other major issues which need proper attention.
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