PATANG: Promoting Community Action for Health- A Co-Produced, Technology-Enabled Platform to Achieve National Goals.

Background In the pursuit of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Community Action for Health (CAH) is considered a crucial strategy. CAH is when communities define healthcare priorities and monitor the effectiveness of health reforms. Globally, CAH has shown improved health literacy, population outcomes, strengthened health systems. In India, CAH has a long history, is integrated into the National Rural Health Mission and National Health Policy and yet, remains under-resourced and under-researched, posing challenges to both sustainability and scale-up. Promoting Community Action for Health- A Co-Produced, Technology-Enabled Platform to Achieve National Goals, or PATANG is a partnership between academic and civil society entities who have experience and interest in CAH. Methods We will employ a mixed-methods, realist-informed, co-production approach across multiple Indian states to 1) synthesise evidence on various CAH approaches, 2) coproduce a learning platform for knowledge sharing and network building, and 3) assess the platform's impact from the perspectives of civil society, community, and state actors. Under aim 1, we will conduct realist synthesis and critical discourse analysis to explore the contexts, mechanisms, costs and outcomes of CAH initiatives, supplemented by witness seminars and key informant interviews with state and civil society actors. Under aim 2, these insights will inform the co-production of the PATANG platform, comprising multilingual resources, tools, and exchanges that foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing between civil society, community and government actors across the country. Under aim 3, the platform will be evaluated using a mixed-methods, interrupted time series quasi-experimental design outcomes related to health literacy, service utilisation, empowerment, and community engagement. Conclusions PATANG aims to generate actionable insights on scalable CAH tools and practices, provide replicable frameworks, and strengthen collaboration between civil society and government actors. By bridging evidence gaps, PATANG will contribute to reinvigorating CAH as a critical lever for UHC and health equity in India.