In order to create awareness among youth, especially college students, about the road safety measures and recent amendments to MV Act, Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru and HKBK Group of Institutions with the support of State Road Safety Authority had organized an awareness program titled “The Road to Safety” under the banner of the “Safer Roads Bengaluru” initiative at HKBK group of institutions on 18th October 2019.
The main intention of organizing this event at HKBK campus is that the selected campus one of the prominent institution at our selected stretch of road and has more than 3000 students studying on that campus.
Poster presentation, skits, role-play by students on road safety, quiz competition, and road safety awareness session by traffic police were organized as part of the event. Former Home Minister and present Member of Legislative Assembly Shri. K. J. George inaugurated the event. The event was presided by Shri. C. M. Faiz Mohammed, Director of HKBK Group of Institutions. Dr. Thriveni B S, public health expert and member of the BBMP NCD task force, Shri. Manzoor A. Khan, Secretary, HKBK Group of Institutions were the other guests for the event.
Winners of the competitions were rewarded ISI standard 2-wheeler helmets from the Safer Roads Bengaluru initiative. Around 600 students participated in the event.
Faculty and Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Intermediate Fellow, Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru
Pragati Hebbar
Faculty and Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Early Career Fellow, Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru
Are you thinking of using realist evaluation (RE) in your work? You have heard of realist evaluation but are unsure if it will work for you in your research or evaluation project? Or are you generally curious about health policy and programme evaluation and would like to learn about realist evaluation?
Then this 3 day workshop on realist evaluation is the most appropriate starting point for you to understand this approach. Through this hands-on workshop the concepts of theory-driven inquiry and particularly realist evaluation will be explained. The workshop will help participants understand and design a study based on realist evaluation using practical examples. Realist evaluation is an essential evaluation method that is idea to study programmes and policies in health. The starting point of a realist evaluation is the fact that programmes and policies work for some and not for others and hence the technique allows to explain how and why programmes and policies work, especially in complex health system settings.
If you are working or considering to work in these areas of health policy and systems research and would like to equip yourself with this approach join us from 9 – 11 October in Bengaluru for an immersive learning experience.
The 5th National Workshop on Tobacco Control, held in JIPMER from 26th August to 30th August 2019, was attended by IPH researchers, Riddhi Dsouza, Vivek Dsouza, and Adhip Amin. Three major themes were addressed in the Workshop. First, the history and politics of WHO’s Framework Convention of Tobacco Control (FCTC) where India is a signatory. The architecture, implementation, and consequences on tobacco consumption, of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) — and the relationship between the FCTC and COTPA. Second, the basic principles of epidemiology in relation to tobacco use was covered. Furthermore on quantitative analysis, the second round of the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS), in the context of India, was discussed. Third, the behavioral and psychological component of tobacco addiction — and strategies for tobacco cessation — was also reviewed.
The director at IPH, Dr. Upendra Bhojani, delivered a lecture on the endgame strategies for tobacco control; what are the levers, mechanisms, and ideas, that can enable policy and law to generate a tobacco free generation. The point was also made that values are important in tobacco policy — how one approaches tobacco control will differ regarding a person’s moral and political philosophy — which we must acknowledge and respect.
Panelists Dr. Mary Assunta & Dr. Upendra Bhojani. Image credit: SARC-CCT
The University of Colombo works systematically on tobacco control and was established as a tobacco observatory Sri Lanka in 2016. Recently, this observatory was expanded to the South Asia region to create the South Asian Regional Consortium Centre for Combating Tobacco (SARC-CCT).
The
centre organized an inaugural workshop, inviting researchers and advocates for the
launch of the SARC-CCT on 15-18th July 2019, in Colombo. On invitation,
the Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru (IPH) was represented & actively participated
in the workshop.
The South
Asian region has some shared history and common challenges of tobacco control
and also offers some unique positive examples (Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India
among others) to the world. This event was a key
gathering of experts, which highlighted the unique insights that SAARC nations can offer in
terms of tobacco control and the importance of close collaboration with other
countries in the region.
Dr. Upendra Bhojani, India Alliance Fellow and Director at IPH, was
invited to participate in a Roundtable discussion hosted by Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and World Health Organization, India in Delhi on the 26th July 2019.
The roundtable discussion was attended by subject experts, bureaucrats and
researchers from Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Delhi.
While urbanization offers opportunities for growth and
development, it poses unique challenges for health and health governance. Acknowledging
health as a key component of urban planning and governance by policymakers is
an important step to visualize and translate sustainable urban development into
action. Themes that were broadly discussed over the course of the day include:
The need to strengthen and rationalise existing urban primary health
structures in the context of Ayushman Bharat.
The need for strong financial governance to help minimise
underutilisation of funds.
Lack of effective Monitoring, Surveillance and Accountability systems
among diverse stakeholders.
“Tobacco-free generation” is a proposal wherein children born after a certain year grow up in tobacco free environments, with legislation in place restricting exposure, sale and use of tobacco for that generation. This is potentially a very powerful intervention, that is progressive and strategic in achieving tobacco control. It has been proposed and implemented to various extents in a few countries, including Tasmania and Netherlands. As a strategy it is feasible as it is aimed at overcoming defects with current youth access laws.
Dr. Upendra
Bhojani, India
Alliance Fellow and Director at IPH, published a video as a part of a 2-day
National Consultation by Generation
Saviour Association (GSA), The Union
and Post Graduate Institute
of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER),
Chandigarh on date
that explains his views on this topic. He explains the issue and argues for its
social, economic and national importance, while shedding light on the ethical
issues that can arise in the context of such interventions.
The video has been uploaded to YouTube and is available for viewing here:
