Traversing the margins: Access to healthcare by Bakarwals in remote and conflict-prone Himalayan regions of Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

The study explores themes pertaining to access and utilization of healthcare embedded in Penchansky’s framework, viz. availability, affordability, accessibility, acceptability and accommodation, in conjunction with Anderson’s model of healthcare utilization amongst the transhumant pastoralist community of Bakarwals residing in Pir Panjal Range of Jammu and Kashmir. Bakarwals are fundamentally transhumant, but hordes of them sedentarized after militancy and conflict in the area reached its crescendo. Transhumants oscillate in space-time continuum, so it is imperative to conduct sample surveys due to non-existence of systematic surveillance data pertaining to health status and access of this group. The study employed a mixed method approach and took place during the reverse migration cycle from summer higher grazing pastures (dhoks) in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri, comprising 250 structured questionnaire interviews coupled with 100 semi-structured interviews. Pir Ki Gali, Jammia Gali and Nurpur Gali transhumance routes were purposefully selected for discerning qualitative inquiry to yield cases with maximum information. A facility survey encompassing 12 primary health centres, three community health centres and two district hospitals was also conducted to ascertain supply-side factors in Bakarwal-concentrated areas. Results indicated lesser probability of utilization in higher pastures (dhoks) due to amalgamation of factors like geographical inaccessibility of modern medicine and cultural preference, but this is less pronounced in winter settlements and amongst the sedentarized. Demand for modern healthcare is also not commensurate with the supply for the same, exacerbated by non-availability of health professionals, drugs and poor quality of service provision found in the facility survey.