Archives: India

This paper seeks to provide researchers, including those performing studies focused on quality improvement of local health systems, with a methodology for identifying worst-off populations.

Published by Jan Swasthya Sahygog (JSS), a health NGO in central India, the Atlas serves as a collection of narratives capturing the patient journey of specific ailments and the complexity in which they present themselves in rural Chhattisgarh, India. Supplemented with photo essays, commentaries and epidemiological figures, the Atlas explores the burden of disease in this setting and repositions prevailing understandings of illness and poverty. NCDs and injuries are featured throughout the work.

Authors outline the process used by PRIME to develop a Situation Analysis Tool to analyze the gaps in mental health care in low-income countries, and inform the development of a district level mental health care plan (MHCP) in Nepal. The PRIME research consortium, led by the University of Cape Town, consists of partners in South Africa, Nepal, India, Ethiopia, and Uganda, and has made their Situation Analysis Tool and model mental health care plans available for download.

In this policy brief, authors discuss the burden of congenital heart disease, outlines the challenges surrounding pediatric cardiac services in low-income countries, and calls on the international community to include childhood heart disease in the in upcoming Sustainable Development agenda. The brief also highlights the work of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) in Kochi, India.

This article outlines a care delivery plan for mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders to implement at the national level. Recommendations are based on the author's experiences in with scaling up services through task-shifting and integrated strategies.

This article reviews data on noncommunicable diseases and injuries in India, especially among poor and rural populations. The authors also discuss and propose priority interventions to implement at the national level across NCDs, injuries, and mental health in public and private sectors.

Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and management for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were developed as a joint effort by the Indian Chest Society and National College of Chest Physicians in India, specifically for the Indian context, given the vast inequalities that exist within the country in terms of availability and affordability of medical services.

Released by Human Rights Watch in October 2009, this report investigates the palliative care and pain relief gap for cancer and HIV/AIDS patients in India. At the national level, the authors suggest that governments like India address these inequalities through establishing national palliative care programs, investing in medical training specifically on palliative care and pain management, and enacting rational drug policies that ensure the availability and accessibility of essential medicines.

Published by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Tata Memorial Centre, Indian Council of Medical Research, and Indian Cancer Society, the UICC Handbook presents recommendations and discusses challenges for national prevention and control programs in South Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.

This article investigates the relationship between the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and socioeconomic (SES) status in India. Because CVD rates are higher in wealthier populations, the cardiovascular narrative (and subsequent response) is at risk of heavily skewing health resources towards those in high SES groups even though substantial health problems, including CVD and other NCDs, continue to be prevalent in the very poor.