Study title

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on the implementation of the peer education programme of the National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK); repurposing of the RKSK health workers and Peer Educators (PEs) in COVID-19 response activities and effect on adolescents´ health and development issues. Virtual in-depth interviews were conducted with stakeholders (n=31) (aged 15 to 54 years) engaged in the implementation of the RKSK and peer education programme at state, district, block, and village levels in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra (India). These interviews were thematically coded and analysed to address the research objectives. Despite most peer education programme activities being stopped, delayed, or disrupted during the pandemic and subsequent lockdown, some communication networks previously established, helped facilitate public health communication regarding COVID-19 and RKSK, between health workers, PEs, and adolescents. There was repurposing of RKSK health workers and PEs’ role towards COVID-19 response-related activities. PEs, with support from health workers, were involved in disseminating COVID-19 information, maintaining migrant and quarantine records, conducting household surveys for recording COVID-19 active cases and providing essential items (grocery, sanitary napkins, etc.) to communities and adolescents.India is home to 243 million adolescents, yet there is a lack of data on several health indicators and no national data on the current levels of knowledge, perceptions, and practices of adolescents. In 2014, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), Government of India (GOI) launched a comprehensive National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), to emphasize community-based health promotion and strengthening preventive, diagnostic and curative service across health system related to 6 strategic priorities. RKSK interventions, which include a Peer Educator (PE)...