Asian Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies ISSN: 2321-8819 (Online) Volume 2, Issue 8, August 2014 2348-7186 (Print) Impact Factor: 0.923 Available online at www.ajms.co.in 106 Rural Health - A Health PRA/PLA Perspective Ramaiah Bheenaveni Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad -07 Abstract: The present article provides an account of participation in rural health and selected applications in health PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal). A health PRA is an application of the methodology of PRA to learn from rural people about issues related to health. Kewords : Participatory Development; PRA, PLA, Rural Health INTRODUCTION: The present article provides an account of participation in rural health and selected applications in health PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal). A health PRA is an application of the methodology of PRA to learn from rural people about issues related to health. It can be done as a part of a general PRA exercise or can be conducted to have a special focus on health (Welbourn: 1992 - 1). A PRA in rural health can range from a mere description of certain kinds of illness the villagers experience from time to time, to a participative session generating a rich analysis of conditions, problems, causes, priorities and preferences in the area of rural health. In this context, the villagers of Ramchandrapur can participate to make the researcher to learn about their health conditions, their types and nature of illness, the causes, the nature of treatment adopted and their preferences and priorities. Even when formal health facilities exist in a rural area, this chapter tries to find out how such facilities can be improved and extended and also how the local people perceive the relevance of such facilities. A Case Study: This is a case study in health PRA of a village named Ramchandrapur of Koheda Mandal in Karimnagar district. This village is also informally called as Urumadla and it is more or less backward in many aspects as it situated in drought prone area. The village has 412 households with a total population of 1674. Among them, 799 were male and 875 were female according to the census 2001. The villagers, some of whom own considerable pieces of land located under the „Kuntas’ (Ponds) surrounded by the village and the river Moyathummeda is the prime source of irrigation and drinking water. The village has a history from the period of Sathavahana Kingdom and much more developed during the regime of Kakatiya rulers. This was the researcher‟s second visit to the village (the first visit was in February, 2009) for a PRA session with the villagers on health. The villagers remembered interacting with the researcher during the year 2009 and doing a well-being grouping of households on a social map of the village. They expressed their joy at the researcher‟s re-visiting their village and sat together quite comfortably to do a mapping of the village without asking for it. Before going into the actual exercises, the researcher clearly explained about social map, resource map, seasonality map, venn diagram, network analysis, mobility and time-line diagrams and their components. Each and every component was clearly clarified by the researcher and the materials like colours, charts, sketches, powders, lime and other relevant items were also provided to draw several maps and charts on the floor and papers. The PRA exercise was conducted in ZP School premises. Before going to details, the oral history of the village is documented as follows; Historical Background of the Studied Village: The name of the village “Ramchandrapur” of Karimnagar district came into existence due to presence of a temple dedicated to Lord Sri Ramachandra on the banks of the river Moyathummeda. There is another temple that belongs to Lord Shiva and is called Ramalingeshwara Temple. While the Ramalayam faces South, Lord Shiva faces the Western direction. The deities are „Swayambhu.‟ This is considered as peculiar and exceptional one in the region. These temples were built during the regime of Kakatiyas and Brahmotsavas are celebrated grandly every year. After the decline of the Kakatiya Kingdom, the village came under the control of Golkonda Sultans and subsequently the Nizams of Hyderabad. During the Golkonda Sultan‟s regime, the village was completely destroyed by the floods of Moyathummeda. Later, people constructed a new village half kilometer away from the river. Here, the researcher found out that the new village is amidst cultivable lands (Madulu) which means village shifted into the agro-fields. That is why the people informally refer the name of their village as “Vurumadulu” (village in agro-fields) which was chronologically transmitted as “Vurumadla”. This floods affected village is a vital witness to many destroyed temples, houses and a great citadel. At the time of Nizams of Hyderabad, this village was ruled by Deshmukhs, Patels and Patwaries who