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Public Health System

Empowering Communities through Health Literacy: A Partnership with United Way

Project Completed | April 2025 – December 2025

About

ACCESS Health International has partnered with the United Way of Hyderabad (UWH) to drive impactful health and community development initiatives in India. This collaboration is set to foster the holistic development of underserved and disadvantaged communities, promoting health, well-being, and long-term social change.

One of the core aspects of this partnership involves exploring joint research opportunities and co-developing projects focused on community development. By leveraging the expertise and resources of both organizations, the partnership aims to create sustainable and high-impact solutions tailored to the specific needs of communities.

In addition, through the partnership, we will actively engage in disseminating knowledge and learnings from these initiatives. This will be achieved through co-hosted webinars, blogs, events, and workshops, ensuring that valuable insights and best practices are shared widely. These activities will enhance community engagement and foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Moreover, we will also extend the organization of training programs and capacity-building workshops for health professionals at various levels. These programs will equip healthcare providers with the skills and knowledge needed to deliver high-quality care and address the evolving health challenges the community faces.

ACCESS Health International is excited to embark on this journey with United Way of Hyderabad. Together, we aim to make a significant difference in the lives of many, driving positive change and building a healthier, more resilient community.
Status
  • Duration: Multi-year, two-phase implementation
  • Geography: 4 villages, Ranga Reddy District, Telangana
  • Lead Implementer: Affordable Quality Health (AQH) / InOrder
  • Partner: United Way of Hyderabad (UWH)
  • Methodology: Three-phases:
    • Baseline Assessment
    • Design
    • Implementation
  • Tool: Custom India-contextualised health literacy questionnaire (digitised on KoboToolbox)
  • Baseline Sample: 367 participants
  • Domains: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), General Health & Wellbeing, First Aid
The Health Literacy Intervention Program (HLIP) was a strategic, nine-month initiative implemented by Affordable Quality Health (AQH) in partnership with the United Way of Hyderabad (UWH), aimed at empowering rural communities in the Ranga Reddy District of Telangana with the knowledge and skills needed for disease prevention and health promotion.

The program was implemented across four villages, Mekaguda, Inmulnavara, Chandanvalli, and Hythabad. The project follows a deliberate, evidence-led approach, built specifically for the project and used its findings to shape every module, training, and community session.
Health literacy is a foundational determinant of health outcomes. In rural India, the gap between what is known about a condition and what action is actually taken is situated in comprehension, trust, and communication.

Standard global instruments to measure health literacy are designed around assumptions such as individual self-reliance, English-language proficiency, biomedical vocabulary that don’t reflect how Indian households actually make health decisions.
Recognizing that health literacy research is often not well-contextualized to the Indian setting, the project began with a robust design phase focused on developing a customized health literacy questionnaire tailored specifically to the needs of the Indian population. This tool was digitized using the KoboToolbox platform and refined through pilot testing in Angiguda village. Following this preparation, a baseline assessment survey was conducted with 367 participants to identify specific thematic gaps and establish a foundation for targeted interventions.

Based on the findings from the baseline study, the program transitioned into an active implementation phase focused on capacity building and community engagement Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) modules were developed to address identified gaps in two primary domains: Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) and their risk factors, and General Health and Wellbeing.

The intervention strategy cantered on empowering the local health system by training frontline workers, including ASHAs, ANMs, and PLA facilitators. These facilitators then led interactive community sessions, which were conducted separately for males and females to ensure culturally appropriate and inclusive learning environments.

By combining data-driven research with localized, hands-on training for community workers, the HLIP established a comprehensive framework for improving health outcomes and strengthening the self-care capabilities of rural communities.
  • Design and pilot-testing of a customised, India-contextualised health literacy questionnaire (digitised on KoboToolbox)
  • Baseline study with 367 participants across four villages
  • Implementation planning aligned to baseline findings
  • Development of capacity-building modules and IEC/BCC materials on NCDs, General Health, and First Aid
  • Training of frontline workers (ASHAs, ANMs, PLA facilitators)
  • Gender-segregated community sessions across all four project villages
Metric Incompatibility: Standard health literacy tools designed for Western contexts often emphasize individual self-reliance, failing to account for the community-led and family-based decision-making typical of Indian households.

The “Translation vs. Adaptation” Gap: Simple translation into Hindi or Telugu often fails because technical medical terms lack “plain language” equivalents in local dialects. This can result in data that reflects language barriers rather than actual health literacy.

Absence of Benchmark Data: The lack of a robust body of existing Indian health literacy literature makes comparative analysis difficult, hindering the ability to determine if findings are regional norms or specific anomalies.