Spandana

Spandana is the Trust's oldest program and the one with the widest reach. Junior doctors and community health volunteers attend meetings of women's self-help groups and Mahila Sanghas to talk about maternal health, family planning, nutrition, hygiene and preventive care. Using the groups women already belong to builds trust and turns health awareness into something the community carries forward itself.

Through its continuum of care for pregnant women, the Trust supports free antenatal check-ups, ultrasound screening, laboratory investigations, obstetrician consultations, delivery and neonatal care at Bapuji Hospital and SSIMS for women from lower socio-economic backgrounds in Davangere taluk. More than 2,000 women have been screened across 100+ villages, and over 700 have received advanced treatment.

Breast cancer awareness programs have run since 2019 with women's groups, anganwadi centres and educational institutions, reaching ASHAs, anganwadi teachers, school teachers and self-help group members. A breast health screening centre opened at SS General Hospital, KR Road, in 2019 in collaboration with Niramai Health Analytix; it uses Thermalytix, a non-invasive, radiation-free, privacy-preserving screening tool suited to women who cannot easily access mammography. Cervical cancer screening was added at the same centre in 2022 using the portable Eva Colposcope for high-resolution imaging and real-time analysis.

For adolescent girls, Spandana runs menstrual hygiene education in schools for students and teachers, and since 2022 has held routine health check-up camps focused on polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and lifestyle modification, so that a common but under-diagnosed condition is caught early.