Does Service Access Alone Improve Maternal Health Experiences? A Study of PMMVY Beneficiaries in Jhunjhunu and Sika

Health Behaviour; Maternal and Child Health; PMMVY; Procedural Accessibility; Psychosocial Support.

Dr. Happy Agrawal1,
Assistant Professor,
Department of Business Administration, St.
Xavier’s College Jaipur, Mobile: 9314246000,
Email ID: guptahappy29@gmail.com, ORCID:
0000-0001-7247-668X

Dr. Shruti Rawal2,
Assistant Professor,
Department of English, St. Xavier’s College
Jaipur, Mobile: 9694499950, Email ID:
shrutivipul@gmail.com, ORCID: 0000-00022354-5631

3Dr. Megha Choudhary ,
Lecturer, Department
of English, Government Polytechnic College,
Bhilwara, Mobile: 9461145767, Email ID:
meghachoudharyy@gmail.com

Received:17-06-2026
Revised:22-07-2026
Accepted: 28-07-2026

European Journal of Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry (2026) 34(7s), 351–362

Does Service Access Alone Improve Maternal Health Experiences? A Study of PMMVY Beneficiaries in Jhunjhunu and Sikar

In India, maternal health interventions are a significant contributor to maternal and child health outcomes. This study is based on one such intervention, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY) in two districts, Jhunjhunu and Sikar, of Rajasthan. It looks at the linkages between the three variables, namely, procedural accessibility, psychosocial support, and maternal health behaviour experiences among the beneficiaries. A questionnaire with 20 questions was structured to measure these dimensions for a sample of 600 beneficiaries of PMMVY. As for the instrument's validity, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed, followed by reliability analysis. Pearson correlation and simple linear regression were performed to examine the relationship between these variables. The correlational analysis revealed a moderate, but significant positive correlation between procedural accessibility and psychosocial support (r = 0.333, p<.001) and maternal health behaviour (r = 0.337, p < 0.001). The results of regression analysis showed that the variance of psychosocial support was 11.1 % explained by procedural accessibility, and the maternal health behaviour was 11.4% explained by procedural accessibility. These findings indicate that although the accessibility of the procedure does play a significant role in determining the experiences of women beneficiaries, other contextual factors such as socio-cultural norms, financial stability, household relations and educational level also have an impact on psychosocial support and maternal health behaviour. The inclusion of the psychosocial in maternal health interventions is a departure from the utilisation of benefits and financial outcomes in the existing literature. The study will also have significance for policymakers in designing maternal health programmes which are not only easier to administer but are also more supportive and community-based.

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