CHALLENGES FACED BY LADY HEALTH WORKERS IN PERFORMING DUTIES: A CASE STUDY FROM LAHORE

Abstract

Lady Health Workers (LHWs), known elsewhere as Community Health Workers, form a core team of community-based health workers in Pakistan’s reproductive and primary healthcare system catering to women and children. This article aims to identify the challenges experienced by LHWs when providing services to communities. With the help of a quantitative research method, primary data was collected from 262 respondents, randomly selected from a list of LHWs employed in the Lahore District. An interview schedule was implemented for gathering data. The study's findings showed that the majority of respondents experienced issues at the community level as a result of gender-based cultural constraints, disrespect towards working women, poor infrastructural health service and conflicts between women’s family responsibilities and paid work. The study’s findings, based on the respondents’ interviews, suggest ways to increase the effectiveness of the LHWs’ functioning. The study recommends that for LHWs to be able to carry out their jobs more successfully, they must prioritize and find solutions to their difficulties.