When I first arrived in Almora, my goal was simply to learn about rural healthcare in India. We interviewed community health officers, ASHA workers, ANMs, doctors, and NGO leaders, each offering a different perspective on healthcare delivery. At first, I focused on collecting as much information as possible. However, once I returned to IIT Roorkee and reviewed my notes, I realized that many of the interviews pointed toward the same recurring issue: people often delayed seeking healthcare even when services were available.

That realization gradually shaped my own research project. Rather than studying healthcare access in general, I decided to focus on how gender roles influence healthcare seeking behaviours among married adults in rural Uttarakhand. Instead of trying to answer every question, I learned that good research begins by identifying one specific problem worth investigating. The interviews became more than field notes. They became the foundation for my own study.

One of the people who inspired me the most during our fieldwork was a Community Health Officer working across eleven villages. Her responsibilities stretched far beyond what I had imagined. She organized health education sessions, screened patients for chronic diseases, provided maternal and child health services, conducted home visits, coordinated vaccination programs, and arranged referrals to higher level hospitals, all while managing the logistics of travelling between villages.

Despite describing heavy workloads and limited resources, she remained deeply committed to improving the health of her community. Speaking with her reminded me that healthcare depends not only on hospitals and doctors, but also on dedicated individuals working directly within communities. She demonstrated how trust and long term relationships can be just as important as medical knowledge.

After interviewing healthcare workers across Almora, one observation stood out repeatedly. Many described women as the backbone of their households, contributing significantly to both domestic responsibilities and income generation. Yet they also explained that women often delayed seeking healthcare because they prioritized their families, lacked decision making power, or needed permission before travelling for treatment.

These conversations sparked the central question of my project: how do gender roles influence timely healthcare seeking behaviours?

As I prepare to begin data collection, I'm excited to see whether these patterns appear consistently across rural communities. Rather than assuming I already know the answers, this project has reminded me that research is about testing ideas with evidence rather than relying on assumptions.

After presenting our findings from Almora, I began working on a questionnaire exploring how gender roles influence healthcare seeking behaviours in married adults living in rural Uttarakhand. I initially thought writing survey questions would be straightforward, but I quickly discovered how much thought goes into every single question.

I learned that each question needs to measure one specific concept without introducing bias or confusing participants. We also had to carefully consider the order of questions, define important terms, and think about factors that could influence the results. The experience gave me a whole new appreciation for research. Before this internship, I had mostly seen surveys as a list of questions. Now I understand how much planning happens long before researchers ever collect data.

Before coming to India, I thought improving healthcare mostly meant building more hospitals and clinics. Through our interviews with healthcare workers, I discovered that the challenges are often much more complex.

Many villages already have access to community health workers who provide education, vaccinations, disease screening, and referrals to hospitals. Yet several healthcare providers shared that people still delay seeking care until their conditions become severe. Transportation, financial pressures, work responsibilities, and even the belief that "if I don't feel sick, I don't need treatment" all influence healthcare decisions.

This experience completely changed how I think about healthcare. Access isn't only about whether services exist. It's also about whether people are able and willing to use them.