In a first for Karnataka, a community-based research center on tribal health launched in Chamarajanagar on 08 June 2022

by iphindia | Jun 10, 2022 | Blog, Health Equity and Evaluation, Latest Updates

The Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru along with J.S.S. Medical College, Mysore, and Indian Institute of Public Health, Bangalore launched a 5-year research initiative on tribal health supported by the DBT / Wellcome Trust India Alliance and in collaboration with the Chamarajanagar District Health & Family Welfare Department, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department and the Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivriddhi Sangha, a collective of the Solega Adivasi community. The center includes research, innovation, and training on genetic diseases and hemoglobinopathies.

Charulata Somal, District Collector, who launched the Center for Training, Research and Innovation on Tribal Health (CTRITH), a first-of-its-kind in the state, noted that the Central and State Governments have organized many programs for the eradication of malnutrition, yet there is concern on malnutrition in tribal communities. She expressed hope that the initiative could bring about changes in tribal health. The new project will benefit the Adivasi communities of Chamarajanagar and the state and she assured the support of the district administration.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Prashanth N S, Assistant Director at the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, noted that CTRITH would help understand the underlying causes of malnutrition and addiction disorders among Adivasi communities, and come up with appropriate guidelines for implementation and action. The program was attended by representatives from over 100 hamlets across 5 taluks and the taluka solega abhivruddhi sangha representatives.

The program was chaired by Dr. C Madegowda, Secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivruddhi Sangha. He notes that research findings should not be limited to the advancement of the researcher but should reach the lowest level of the community and its benefits should be beneficial to the development of the community.

The Director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Bangalore, Dr. Suresh Shapeti recalled his tenure as the District Health Officer of Chamarajangar and noted the need for cooperation across various government departments and partnerships with NGOs and civil society.

Dr. Deepa Bhat spoke on behalf of J.S.S. Medical College, and explained the importance of community involvement, explaining for action on sickle-cell anemia and other hemoglobinopathies.

Dr. Vishweshwariah, the District Health and Family Welfare Officer, Dr. G M Sanjeev, Director and Dean of the Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), Dr. Mahesh from CIMS, Manjula, District Tribal Welfare Officer, Dr. M Jadegowda, President of Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra addressed the gathering and wished the program success.

Media Coverage
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Prajavani Kannada Daily_ CTRITH Launch event

Andolana Kannada Daily_ CTRITH Launch event

Vijaya Karnataka Kannada Daily_ CTRITH Launch event

Samyuktha Karnataka Kannada Daily_ CTRITH Launch event

District Gap Assessment-Telangana (DGAT)

by iphindia | Jun 2, 2022 | Blog, Health Services, Latest Updates

Photo of mother and child health wing in the district of Nalgonda taken during the team visit.

Months

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Duration of Project February-July 2022

About the project

The state of Telangana, despite the challenges of a newly formed state, has also achieved the SDG 3 of MMR of less than 70/100000 live births. However, maternal deaths that are preventable are still occurring in India and in Telangana. Studies also indicate that there are inequities in access and quality of maternal and newborn health care that continue to plague our health system. Therefore, there is still much that can be done to further decrease the gaps inequitable care and end preventable maternal mortality. There is a global movement to ending preventable mortality (EPMM) grounded in a human rights approach with a focus on eliminating significant inequities that lead to disparities in access, quality, and outcomes of care within and between countries. The last mile towards ending preventable maternal mortality will require locally relevant and contextual interventions.

In this technical assessment, in collaboration with the Armman, in two districts in Telangana, we seek to identify local evidence-based actions that have the potential to decrease and prevent maternal mortality. We plan to first understand the gaps in maternal and newborn care service delivery that contribute to maternal mortality. This will be achieved through the analysis of secondary data and facility preparedness surveys. Based on the gaps identified, a qualitative inquiry to gain insights about ‘why gaps exist’ and ‘how they can be plugged’ will be conducted. Evidence-based actions that have the potential to reduce the MMR will be recommended.

Team Members
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Dr. N Devadasan

Dr. Dorothy Lall

Dr. Vaibhav Agavane

Ms. Angel Sudha

Regional Consultations on ‘Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies in India’

by iphindia | Apr 29, 2022 | Anusthana: Scaling Implementation of Tobacco Control Laws, Blog, Chronic Health Conditions, Latest Updates, Uncategorized

The burden of tobacco-related illnesses is high in India, with about 1.35 million people dying each year. Despite comprehensive tobacco control laws and policies, implementation is varied among Indian states. The Anushthana project organized two regional consultations—held online and in-person in Raipur, Chhattisgarh—in association with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union). The consultations brought together government officials from health, food safety, police and relevant departments, independent researchers, and members from civil society organizations from 18 states and union territories who are working in the field of tobacco control and public health.

The purpose of the regional consultations were to

Discuss state-specific tobacco control implementation strategies
Cross-pollinate ideas and facilitate research and practice collaborations in tobacco control
Promote leadership and highlight a set of best practices in tobacco control.

Anushthana team conducts field observations in three Indian states

by iphindia | Feb 8, 2022 | Anusthana: Scaling Implementation of Tobacco Control Laws, Blog, Chronic Health Conditions, Latest Updates, Uncategorized

Tobacco kills over one million adults in a high-burden country like India each year. Despite a comprehensive tobacco control law – the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, implementation remains varied across Indian states due to several contextual factors. The Anushthana team members (Dr. Pragati Hebbar, Vivek Dsouza, Praveen Rao S, and Kumaran P) of the Chronic Conditions and Public Policies cluster at IPH visited three Indian states i.e. West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, and Kerala during the months of November and December 2021. The objective of the field visit was to understand local contexts and on-ground implementation successes and challenges in the field of tobacco control. The team undertook field observations in three districts of each state focussing on the implementation of COTPA sections 4, 5, 6, and 7. Simultaneously, the team met relevant stakeholders to understand their views on tobacco control policy implementation.

To aid the data collection, the team worked with Julee Jerang (IPH field consultant in Arunachal Pradesh) and MANT (a non-profit public health organisation in West Bengal). The field visit is part of a five-year research fellowship awarded to Dr. Pragati Hebbar and is funded by the DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance.

Workshop on Research Management in Public Health Research Organisations

by iphindia | Jan 6, 2022 | Blog, Latest Updates

Dear Friends,

Greetings from the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru!

We are organising a workshop of “ Workshop on research management in public health research organisations” on 12th January 2022 from 2.00 to 5.00 PM.

What is Research Management?
All the support activities are undertaken in assisting the PI/researcher that helps take off the certain administrative burdens on the researchers.
It includes all the processes from proposal submission to project closure.

Rationale behind Research Management
Research Management is an important aspect in public health research organisations. Most of the processes from proposal writing till the project closure are carried out by the researchers with the help of a few support staff. This burdens the researchers and a lot of the productive time is lost in these administrative activities.

The role of the Research Manager is defined here wherein all such activities are taken up by the Research Managers and thus researchers could actively focus on the research activities.

Role of India Research Management Initiative (IRMI)
The India Research Management Initiative (IRMI) of India Alliance aims to strengthen research ecosystems in India by building capacity for research management and creating a community of practice that supports knowledge creation and innovation for addressing global challenges.

They support the Research Managers through Research Management Grants, travel grants, and fellowship grants. The current workshop is also supported under such as IRMI initiative at the IPH, Bengaluru

Objectives of the Workshop
The objective of this workshop is that the Research Managers across the public health research organisations come together and share their practices and processes and put forward their thoughts that could facilitate peer learning.

We hope this workshop will strengthen our collaborative efforts and help us to work together and improve research management practices at the participating institutes.

Workshop Details
The workshop shall be a blended model and participants are welcome to join online and offline at the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru. All the COVID Appropriate Behavior shall be followed.

The workshop includes presentations by Research Managers among the public health research Institutes on the topic “Research Management practices at the Institute, Challenges faced and measures are taken to overcome the challenges” and talk by experts Dr. Varadarajan who is pursuing research on mental health amongst tribal youth and Dr. Malini Pillai, Grants Adviser at National Centre for Biological Sciences-TIFR, Bangalore.

Link for participation

Join Zoom Meeting Click HERE

Meeting ID: 875 6176 3155

Passcode: 798901

Please feel free to circulate it to the Research Managers of your known contacts.

Annual Public Health Ph.D. Workshop

by iphindia | Dec 20, 2021 | Blog, Latest Updates, PhD

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Date

20th & 21st -January-2022

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Venue

Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru

Apply Now

Please fill this google form by 5th January 2022

About the workshop:
Ph.D. students in their journey are not only expected to equip themselves with the necessary skills and competency but also navigate through a demanding doctoral process. The lonely nature of the Ph.D. also prevents them from meeting their peers and interacting with them. Conferences, symposiums are such platforms where Ph.D. scholars get an opportunity to meet each other and build a network. However, considering the dominance of technical sessions within such platforms, it becomes difficult to engage and network with like-minded people closely. Thus, the aim of this workshop is to provide a platform that facilitates interaction among Ph.D. and aspiring Ph.D. students and stimulates learning from peers and experienced researchers.

This workshop is an amalgamation of technical sessions and informal conversations and would be conducted in a hybrid format with virtual and in-person sessions (if covid permits). The workshop will use interactive methods and activities to open up conservations among students not only related to the research process but also on their experience of traversing through the Ph.D. terrain. This is the first workshop of its kind at the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru. We hope to organize this workshop on an annual basis.

What will the workshop offer to the participants?

1. Improve their scientific writing, and presentation skills and learn how to communicate their findings to a larger audience including fellow researchers, policymakers, and layperson
2. Build their reviewing skills and learn how to review a paper
3. Opportunity to network with their peers and boost their networking skills for conferences
4. Learn how to handle various challenges while traversing through the Ph.D. terrain
5. Gain an understanding of the scope and direction after Ph.D.

Who can apply?
The applicant must fulfill any of the below criteria to be eligible for applying for the workshop- Ph.D. student at the Institute of Public Health (IPH), Bengaluru
– Associated with IPH in any capacity and have an aspiration to pursue a Ph.D.
– Associated with any of the partner organizations of IPH and having an aspiration to pursue a Ph.D. or currently pursuing a Ph.D.

The total number of participants: We would like to restrict the number of participants to 20 only for a fruitful engagement. If there are more than 20 applications, we would select participants on a first come first serve basis. The preference will be given to currently pursuing Ph.D. students.

Fees details
The fee for the workshop is Rs.10,000/- (including GST) INR. The fee will cover accommodation (if needed), training costs, food, and workshop materials. A partial or full waiver will be awarded to deserving candidates. Kindly indicate if you need a scholarship in the application form and we will send you the scholarship form. Please note that we have a limited number of scholarships. Hence, we request you to apply if and only if it is necessary.

Session Covered

Introduction and Welcome
Pitch your Ph.D. in 2 minutes
Learning from an experience: An interaction with a Ph.D. holder
Skill-building session-1: Presentation, communication, and public speaking skills
Skill-building session-2: A debate on inclusive science

Skill-building session-3: Engaging meaningfully in a conference
Skill-building session-4: Art of writing a thesis
Skill-building session-5: Reviewing a paper
Mental health in Ph.D.
Post Ph.D. journey