• NILOUFER.M
• Dr.NEEMA GNANDEV

Community Participation is essential to bring about long term and lasting changes in the status of women and children, make the programme self sustaining and more suited to the real needs of the community, and help women to become self reliant and become capable of taking control over their own health and children. Hence the present study has been undertaken in Attappadi block of Palakkad district, Kerala to probe into the extent of participation and involvement of Anganwadi workers, Panchayat presidents, beneficiaries in ICDS programme, to evaluate the involvement of youth clubs/ school teachers/ voluntary organizations in smooth running of the programme and recommend strategies to enhance community participation in ICDS Programme.A list of nursing mothers and pregnant mothers registered in the selected Anganwadi centres was obtained from the ICDS centre (registered in 2015*) and 25 per cent of the beneficiaries based on systematic random sampling were selected for the study. Census method was adopted in selecting Anganwadi workers and supervisors. The study is based on multi stage random sampling. Sample size of this study is 638. The division of sample size has been like 520 beneficiaries, 88 Anganwadi personals and 30 Community leaders/Health personnel. The beneficiaries, anganwadi workers and Community leaders/Health Personnel were interviewed by using interview schedule.Major findings of the study include, a) On the basis of Education Level, illiterates constitute 35.76 per cent of the respondents followed by 30.76 per cent and 23.45 per cent of the beneficiaries have completed primary education and Secondary education respectively. b) 67.05 per cent of the Anganwadi Workers are from outside the village and only 32.95 per cent of the Anganwadi Workers are from the same village. c) Drinking water facility is awfully low in the study areas. Hardly about 7 per cent of the anganwadi centres have drinking water facilities. d) It is found that, out of 520 beneficiaries, 6.54 per cent of them had high awareness about the ICDS package as against 29.23 per cent of the beneficiaries who had medium level of awareness. However majority (64.23 per cent) of the beneficiaries had poor awareness about the ICDS package services. e) Majority of the women (70.96 per cent) under study did not avail the referral services. Panchayat wise distribution of referral services shows that only about one third of the women in Agali panchayat and only about one fourth of the women in Pudur and Sholayur block availed referral services. f) Majority (91.18 per cent) of the respondents who did not avail the referral services were illiterates. Hypothesis test reveals that there is association between literacy level of the women beneficiaries and referral services availed in Sholayur block.

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION, BENEFICIARIES, ANGANWADI, PANCHAYATH

"COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION UNDER ICDS-A STUDY IN ATTAPPADI BLOCK OF PALAKKAD DISTRICT IN KERALA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 8, page no.a14-a23, August-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2308004.pdf

"COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION UNDER ICDS-A STUDY IN ATTAPPADI BLOCK OF PALAKKAD DISTRICT IN KERALA", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 8, page no. ppa14-a23, August-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2308004.pdf