Abstract
Health has been one of the most important human rights concerns around the world since the inception of the United Nations. Health in this essay is viewed from a joint perspective of medicine and public health. This paper aims to examine the health and human rights concerns from an Indian perspective with regard to four main themes: (i) availability of basic necessities, (ii) affordability and accessibility of health care services, (iii) specialized care for patients, and (iv) availability of palliative care for a dignified life and death. The issues raised around these four themes are analyzed in sociological, psychological and cultural theoretical perspectives highlighting the actions needed to bring about appropriate change in the Indian context. This paper delineates the scope of the government’s actions and people’s participation in considering health as a basic human right for all people in India.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Addington-Hall, J. (2002). Research sensitivities to palliative care patients. European Journal of Cancer Care, 11(3), 220–224. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2354.2002.00343.x.
Anand, S., & Fan, V. (2016). The health workforce in India. Human health resources for health observer series no. 16. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Avineri, S. (1968). The social and political thought of Karl Marx (Vol. 619). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bagcchi, S. (2015). India has low doctor to patient ratio, study finds. British Medical Journal, 351, h5195. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h5195.
Bharadwaj, P., Vidyasagar, M. S., Kakria, A., & Tanvir Alam, U. A. (2007). Survey of palliative care concepts among medical students in India. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 10(3), 651–653.
Bhatty, K. (2014). The link between Sanitation and Schooling, The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-link-between-sanitation-and-schooling/article6423571.ece. Accessed 31 Jan 2018.
Cohen, J., & Ezer, T. (2013). Human rights in patient care: a theoretical and practical framework. Health and Human Rights, 15(2), 7–19.
Cook, A. S. (1995). Ethical issues in bereavement research: an overview. Death Studies, 19(2), 103–122.
Denied Wheel Chair. (2017). Denied wheelchair, woman drags husband on hospital floor, The Hindu. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/denied-wheelchair-elderly-woman-forced-to-drag-husband-from-scan-room-to-ward-in-govt-hospital-in-shivamogga/article18705826.ece. Accessed 18 July 2017.
DGHS. (2016). National Programme for Palliative Care. Retrieved 21 December 2017, from http://dghs.gov.in/content/1351_3_NationalProgramforPalliativeCare.aspx. Aaccessed 21 Dec 2017.
Dutt, A. (2017). Want a surgery at AIIMS? Wait could be four years, Hindustan Times. Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-news/want-a-surgery-at-aiims-wait-could-be-four-years/story-Ndl1iIL8wFEn4Vm5fNPoBM.html. Accessed 19 July 2017.
Express WebDesk. (2017). Denied mortuary van, man carries wife’s body on motorcycle in Bihar’s Purnia, The Indian Express. Retrieved from http://indianexpress.com/article/india/denied-mortuary-van-man-carries-wifes-dead-body-on-motorcycle-4688862/. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.
GOI. (1983). National Health Policy. Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
GOI. (2011). Ensuring drinking water security in rural India. Delhi: Ministry of Rural Development.
GOI. (2017a). National family health survey (NFHS IV) 2015–16. Mumbai: International Institute of Population Sciences & Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
GOI. (2017b). National Health Policy 2017. Delhi: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
GOI. (2017c). National Health Profile 2017. New Delhi: Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Grebmer, K. V., Bernstein, J., Hossain, N., & Brown, T. (2017). 2017 global hunger index: The inequalities of hunger. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.
Gitanjali, B., Raveendran, R., Pandian, D., & Sujindra, S. (2003). Recruitment of subjects for clinical trials after informed consent: does gender and educational status make a difference? Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, 49(2), 109.
Griffin, K. (2003). Problems of poverty and marginalization. Indicators, 2(2), 22–48.
Higginson, I. J., Hart, S., Koffman, J., Selman, L., & Harding, R. (2007). Needs assessments in palliative care: an appraisal of definitions and approaches used. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 33(5), 500–505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2007.02.007.
Joshi, V., Oka, G., Kulkarni, A., & Bivalkar, V. (2013). Public awareness and perception of clinical trials: Quantitative study in Pune. Perspectives in clinical research, 4(3), 169-174. https://doi.org/10.4103/2229-3485.115378.
Leary, V. A. (1994). The right to health in international human rights law. Health and Human Rights, 1(1), 24–56. https://doi.org/10.2307/4065261.
Lohman, D., & Amon, J. J. (2015). Evaluating a human rights-based advocacy approach to expanding access to pain medicines and palliative care: Global advocacy and case studies from India, Kenya, and Ukraine. Health and Human Rights, 17(2), 149–165.
Mann, J. (2006). Health and human rights. American Journal of Public Health, 96(11), 1940–1943. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.96.11.1940.
Mark, S. (2009). Health, development, and human rights. In A. Gatti & A. Boggio (Eds.), Health and development: Toward a matrix approach. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), 370.
NDTV. (2018a). Dead Lizard In Delhi's Midday Meal Leaves 30 Students Hospitalised. from https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/25-students-fall-ill-after-mid-day-meal-at-school-in-delhi-1881540. Accessed 15 Aug 2018.
NDTV. (2018b). Delhi Mid-Day Meal NGO Fined Rs. 54,879 Over Health Norm Violations. Retrieved 15 August 2018, from https://www.ndtv.com/delhi-news/delhi-mid-day-meal-ngo-fined-rs-54-879-over-health-norm-violations-1895345. Accessed 15 Aug 2018.
OHCHR. (2018, par. 1). United Nations Human Rights office of the High Commissioner: International standard. Retrieved 22 January 2018, from https://www.ohchr.org. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.
OHCHR. (2019). International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Retrieved 4 February 2019, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cescr.aspx. Accessed 04 Feb 2019.
Pratap, A. (2018). Elderly Mumbai couple seeks Presidential nod for ‘active euthanasia’, Hindustan Times. Retrieved from https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/elderly-mumbai-couple-seeks-presidential-nod-for-active-euthanasia/story-CXh9GMeKxZw2upJavaT45O.html. Accessed 02 Feb 2018.
PTI. (2018a). How the milestone was reached: From Common Cause PIL to case of nurse Aruna Shanbaug, The Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/how-the-milestone-was-reached-from-common-cause-pil-to-case-of-nurse-aruna-shanbaug/cid/1338159. Accessed 24 Nov 2018.
PTI. (2018b). India 6th wealthiest country with $8,230 billion; saw 25% jump in net worth last year, The Hindu. Retrieved from https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-sixth-wealthiest-country-with-total-wealth-of-8230-billion/article23942050.ece. Accessed 24 Nov 2018.
Rajagopal, M. R., & Twycross, R. (2010). Providing palliative care in resource-poor countries. In G. Hanks, N. I. Cherny, N. A. Christakis, M. Fallon, S. Kaasa, & R. K. Portenoy (Eds.), Oxford textbook of palliative medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Safi, M. (2016). Indian man forced to carry dead wife home after hospital refuses transport The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/26/indian-man-carry-dead-body-wife-home-hospital-refuses-help. Accessed 19 July 2017.
Salaria, S. (2017). Labourer maimed by power line seeks euthanasia nod from President, Times of India. Retrieved from http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/labourer-maimed-by-power-line-seeks-euthanasia-nod-from-president/articleshow/59657336.cms. Accessed 21 Dec 2017.
Salve, P. (2017). 63 million Indians do not have access to clean drinking water, Hindustan Times. Retrieved from http://www.indiaspend.com/cover-story/63-million-indians-without-clean-drinking-water-population-of-australiaswedensri-lankabulgaria-13088. Accessed 19 Dec 2017.
Shah, J. Y., Phadtare, A., Rajgor, D., Vaghasia, M., Pradhan, S., Zelko, H., & Pietrobon, R. (2010). What leads Indians to participate in clinical trials? A meta-analysis of qualitative studies. PLoS ONE, 5(5), e10730.
Singh, P. (2000). Protection of human rights through public interest litigation in India. Journal of the Indian Law Institute, 42(2/4), 263–283.
Singh, S. (2015). In Bihar primary school where mid-day meal killed 23, children go hungry, The Indian Express. Retrieved from http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/in-bihar-primary-school-where-mid-day-meal-killed-23-children-go-hungry/. Accessed 24 Nov 2018.
Srinivasan, S. (2010). Patient protection in clinical trials in India: some concerns. Perspectives in clinical research, 1(3), 101.
UNICEF. (2012). An overview of status of drinking water and sanitation in schools in India. New Delhi: UNICEF & DISE.
United Nations. (2018, p. 2). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved 22 October 2018, from http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.
WASHwatch. (2017). WASH statistics. Retrieved 19/12/2017, from http://www.washwatch.org/en/countries/india/summary/statistics/. Accessed 19 Dec 2017.
WaterAid. (2018). Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Schools in India. Retrieved 31/01/2018, from http://wateraidindia.in/water-sanitation-and-hygiene-in-schools/. Accessed 31 Jan 2018.
WHO. (2018a, par. 1). Constitution of WHO: Principles. Retrieved 22/01/18, from http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.
WHO. (2018b, par. 2). Constitution of WHO: Principles. Retrieved 22/01/18, from http://www.who.int/about/mission/en/. Accessed 22 Jan 2018.
WHO. (2019). Palliative Care: Key facts. Retrieved 4 February 2019, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/palliative-care. Accessed 04 Feb 2019.
WHO/UNICEF. (2017). Progress on drinking water and sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Wilkinson, R. G. (2002). Unhealthy societies: The afflictions of inequality. London: Routledge.
Acknowledgments
The author is thankful to CA Munish Bhandari, Siddharth Prakash and Dr. Manju Ailawadhi for meticulous editing of this essay.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bhardwaj, T. Evaluating a Human Rights Approach to Health in the Indian Context: Emerging Needs and Challenges. J. Hum. Rights Soc. Work 5, 3–11 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-00099-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41134-019-00099-9