Background: The maternal health care indicators are better in Kerala even in the tribal districts than the national averages. The tribal population scattered in hilly areas or other difficult terrains heavily constraints the MPHW female (Junior Public Health Nurse in Kerala) from providing services. The study was intended to describe the experiences of the Junior Public Health Nurses (JPHN) in delivery of maternal health care services to tribal women in Kerala.
Materials and methods: JPHNs posted in Thariode panchayat under the sub centers of CHC Thariode in Wayanad district of Kerala. This is a Qualitative study with in-depth interview of the JPHNs using an interview guide.
Results and inferences: The various difficulties experienced by JPHNs in delivering the services in tribal areas were lack of sufficient time for field work, travel difficulties faced due to the hilly terrain and lack of public transport facilities, more time spent on travel than actual time spent for field work, cultural and language barriers and extra inputs put up in service delivery to tribal women.
Conclusion and recommendations: The JPHNs serving in tribal areas overcame various constraints in service delivery like hilly terrain, limited public transport facilities, long hours spent in travelling, cultural and language barriers by putting in extra effort, time and personal money to fulfill their responsibilities. It is suggested that the JPHNs be given compensatory off to complete records and extra remuneration to cover their out of pocket expenditure on travelling to difficult areas.
Keywords: Difficulties; maternal health; multi purpose health worker female; tribal areas.