Published Paper Details:

The health and welfare of rural and urban women in Karnataka's Vijayapura District are compared in this study. It looks into the various aspects of well-being, such as mental and physical health, dietary habits, access to and use of healthcare services, and knowledge of health programs. The study uses a mixed-methods approach, collecting detailed data from women in both contexts using surveys, anthropometric measurements, and qualitative interviews. Important results show a clear difference between urban and rural areas. Higher rates of institutional deliveries and non-communicable disease screenings are associated with urban women's usually better access to healthcare facilities, specialists, and health information. On the other hand, lifestyle-related problems like obesity, stress, and sedentary behavior are more common among them. On the other hand, rural women have substantial obstacles concerning healthcare accessibility, affordability, and availability, which leads to a higher prevalence of infectious diseases, maternal health issues, and nutritional deficiencies such as anemia. Despite frequently having greater informal community support networks, their health is further impacted by sociocultural norms, occupational dangers from agricultural work, and lesser health literacy. The study comes to the conclusion that rural women in Vijayapura District mostly struggle with socioeconomic constraints and systemic gaps in basic healthcare access, whereas urban women face health concerns associated with modern lifestyles. Customized, context-specific therapies are necessary to achieve holistic wellness. Strengthening primary healthcare and outreach programs in rural regions, launching focused nutrition and sanitation campaigns, and creating urban wellness programs centered on mental health and lifestyle disorders are among the recommendations. Integrated policy initiatives that address the infrastructure deficiencies in rural areas as well as the new public health issues in urban settings are required to close this equality gap.