Ministry Of Health And Family Welfare Research Articles

Addressing Non-Communicable Diseases: Unveiling “Collateral Damage” and Pursuing Solutions at the Grassroots

Public health professionals are crucial in developing strategies to prevent and manage diseases while promoting overall population health. Despite some successes in controlling diseases like smallpox and polio, the 21st century has seen a shift in disease dynamics, with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) disproportionately affecting low- and middle-income countries. These nations bear over three-quarters of global NCD-related deaths annually, posing a significant challenge to healthcare administrators. It's essential to view NCDs as unintended consequences of lifestyle decisions, allowing policymakers to reformulate policies accordingly. “collateral damage”, whether in military contexts or medicine, refers to unintended harm or negative consequences. Adverse effects like antibiotic resistance or antibiotic-associated diarrhoea illustrate this concept in healthcare. Furthermore, NCDs often result from factors outside the healthcare sector, such as poverty-driven dietary choices or inadequate urban planning, leading to sedentary lifestyles. Globalisation exacerbates NCDs by promoting unhealthy Western lifestyles, including the consumption of fast foods with inferior quality in low-income countries. Uncontrolled urbanisation further compounds the issue by fostering unhealthy behaviours. Aging populations also contribute, with elderly individuals adopting sedentary lifestyles that increase their risk of NCDs. Health promotion offers a proactive approach to address “collateral damage”, emphasising action through advocacy, policy formulation, and health education. Effective control of NCDs requires primary prevention measures like healthy diets and physical exercise, alongside public health legislation and collaborative efforts among various sectors. Preventing NCDs necessitates auditing decisions across industries to assess potential “collateral damage”s, involving the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MOHFW) in authorising new ventures like liquor shops or fast-food centres. While the battle against NCDs has yet to begin, concerted efforts are required to implement strategies and actions effectively and efficiently. This paper discusses innovative grassroots strategies and intersectoral collaborations that have shown promise in combating NCDs, aiming to inspire actionable solutions.

Improving Health Information Access in the World’s Largest Maternal Mobile Health Program via Bandit Algorithms

Harnessing the wide-spread availability of cell phones, many nonprofits have launched mobile health (mHealth) programs to deliver information via voice or text to beneficiaries in underserved communities, with maternal and infant health being a key area of such mHealth programs. Unfortunately, dwindling listenership is a major challenge, requiring targeted interventions using limited resources. This paper focuses on Kilkari, the world's largest mHealth program for maternal and child care -- with over 3 million active subscribers at a time -- launched by India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and run by the non-profit ARMMAN. We present a system called CHAHAK that aims to reduce automated dropouts as well as boost engagement with the program through the strategic allocation of interventions to beneficiaries. Past work in a similar domain has focused on a much smaller scale mHealth program and used markovian restless multiarmed bandits to optimize a single limited intervention resource. However this paper demonstrates the challenges in adopting a markovian approach in Kilkari; therefore CHAHAK instead relies on non-markovian time-series restless bandits, and optimizes a layered set of multiple interventions to improve listenership. We use real Kilkari data from the Odisha state in India to show CHAHAK's effectiveness in harnessing multiple interventions to boost listenership, benefiting marginalized communities. When deployed CHAHAK will assist the largest maternal mHealth program to date.

Health Policy Analysis on the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in India: A Mixed Methods Study of Antimicrobial Stewardship as a Pivotal Intervention in Tackling AMR

Objective: This policy report aimed at two goals, that is, to report the findings of the literature review and explore the perceptions of the key stakeholders in seeking better insight into the antimicrobial stewardship program (AMSP), and to develop antimicrobial resistance (AMR) policy recommendations for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), India, based on the findings from the rapid systematic review of the literature (both published and grey) and the views of key stakeholders. Method: A mixed method approach using literature review and qualitative interviews has been applied. A rapid systematic literature review focusing on the antimicrobial stewardship pro-gram’s key achievements and its implementation and impact, implementation challenges, gaps and barriers, and opportunities, has been carried out, which has been followed by conducting interviews of key stakeholders and reporting the findings along with the recommendations. Results: The findings have shown significant progress towards AMSP, such as expanding to 90 secondary-level hospitals and district-level hospitals/nursing homes, and the Indian Council of Medical Research antimicrobial resistance surveillance and research network (ICMR AMRSN) program. Education, training, and microbiological testing have been found to be the current focus areas. However, there exist challenges, including a lack of leadership support, diagnostic stew-ardship, and staffing of clinical pharmacists and infectious control nurses. Key gaps and barriers identified include setting up microbiology laboratories and hiring ICN nurses and clinical phar-macists. Opportunities have also been identified. Based on these findings, we have made succinct recommendations to address the themes and issues identified. Conclusion: Without new medicines, India will struggle to manage antimicrobial resistance. This situation calls for national oversight. This study has demonstrated AMSP as crucial for fighting this silent pandemic. The Indian government and policymakers must swiftly address critical chal-lenges, gaps, and opportunities. These findings and recommendations might potentially strengthen the future antimicrobial resistance national action plan (AMR NAP).

Novel antioxidant protein target therapy to counter the prevalence and severity of SARS-CoV-2.

This review analyzed the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic globally and in India and the measures to counter its effect using natural and innate immune booster molecules. The study focuses on two phases: the first focuses on the magnitude, and the second on the effect of antioxidants (natural compounds) on SARS-CoV-2. The magnitude of the prevalence, mortality, and comorbidities was acquired from the World Health Organization (WHO) report, media, a report from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), newspapers, and the National Centre of Disease Control (NCDC). Research articles from PubMed as well as other sites/journals and databases were accessed to gather literature on the effect of antioxidants. In the elderly and any chronic diseases, the declined level of antioxidant molecules enhanced the reactive oxygen species, which in turn deprived the immune system. Innate antioxidant proteins like sirtuin and sestrin play a vital role in enhancing immunity. Herbal products and holistic approaches can also be alternative solutions for everyday life to boost the immune system by improving the redox balance in COVID-19 attack. This review analyzed the counteractive effect of alternative therapy to boost the immune system against the magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Analysis of Blood Donor Deferral Pattern during COVID-19 Pandemic at a Tertiary Care Hospital-based Blood Centre, Jammu and Kashmir, India: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Blood donor deferral is vital for ensuring safe blood transfusion. However, with the unfolding Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, significant changes were made in donor screening and blood donation criteria, resulting in a shift in the pattern of donor deferrals. Aim: To estimate the blood donor deferral patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Transfusion Medicine at SMHS Hospital/GMC Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The study spanned two years, from March 2020 to February 2022. All blood donors were screened in accordance with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), National Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) control organisation (National blood transfusion services) 2017 guidelines. The data was analysed in Microsoft Excel, considering factors such as age, gender, type of deferral, and reasons for deferral. Results: Deferred blood donors were most common in the age group of 18-33 years. During the study period, a total of 19,895 blood donors (19493 males and 402 females) were registered for blood donation. Out of these, 3441 donors (17.30%) were deferred, with a male donor deferral rate of 3258/19493 (16.71%) and a female donor deferral rate of 183/402 (45.52%). Temporary blood donor deferrals accounted for 3272 (95.09%) cases, while permanent deferrals were 169 (4.91%). The most common cause of deferral was low haemoglobin, accounting for 991/3441 (28.80%) cases, followed by deferrals due to reasons attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic (786/3441, 22.84%) and hypertension (653/3441, 18.98%). Conclusion: The study observed a substantial increase in the total donor deferral rate, as well as a change in the donor deferral pattern during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Engaging National Professional Society to Combat Postpartum Hemorrhage Using Bundle Approach - A FIGO-SAFOG-OGSB-MGH Project: Experience of Implementation in Bangladesh

Objective: To reduce the incidence and death due to post-partum Hemorrhage (PPH) and capacity building of health service providers by using PPH Emergency response using Bundle Approach. Method: Planning and implementation of WHO formulated PPH Bundles [Active Management of Third Stage of Labour (AMTSL), First response Bundle and Refractory PPH Bundle] by Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Bangladesh (OGSB) in 14 different levels of public and private hospitals in Bangladesh. After discussion with International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (SAFOG) team, a Memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed; permission from Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MOHFW) was obtained through Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and also from all the institutions. The project period was from November 2019 to September 2022 in a spoke-and-hub fashion. A group of master trainers and a technical advisory group were developed comprising of senior obstetricians and gynecologist of Bangladesh. Data were obtained through record keeping of the respective hospitals and Management Information System (MIS) of DGHS, monitoring was done by OGSB and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)-FIGO team. Results: Consultative and planning meetings were organized among OGSB, FIGO, SAFOG and MGH: 16 master trainers, 74 trainers were produced and 740 health service providers (Doctor, Nurses, midwives) and 450 non clinical staffs were trained. All clinical and nonclinical bundles were implemented in 14 facilities in spoke-and-hub fashion. Occurrence of PPH, detection rate of PPH, filling up PPH checklist and debrief forms were improved. Data collection system, understanding about data improved a lot. Facility readiness, team work, data monitoring & supervision, network integration and leadership skills were instituted and shown excellent positive changes. Regular simulations were continued which helped old & new service providers to learn and continue proper use of the clinical and non-clinical interventions. Scale up was planned and continued. Conclusion: PPH emergency response using bundle approach was found to be an important practical way to reduce occurrence, death and disability related to PPH. Needs for surgery has reduced also. Quality of services improved in terms of providing standard care, record keeping and reporting. Regular supervision and monitoring; data management and personal motivation are the challenges. Bangladesh J Obstet Gynaecol, 2022; Vol. 37(2): 98-108

Development of Pharmacovigilance System in India and Paradigm of Pharmacovigilance Research: An Overview.

The drugs are projected to cure, prevent and treat diseases; however, there are also chances of mild or severe adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in the patients. Pharmacovigilance (PV) enhances the approach to safe medicines and healthcare, but integration into public healthcare remains a challenge in many countries. The Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI) is a nationwide programme launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India, on 14 July 2010. It is currently run by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC). Presently, 567 ADR Monitoring Centres (AMC) are functioning under PvPI across India. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), and the Ministry of Health, Family & Welfare (MoHFW) Government of India is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India. This review aims to trace the development of PV in India and its status among the top ADR reporting countries, with a focus on the current status of the studied ADR in different regions in India. Among the top 20 countries enthusiastic about sending ICSR per million population between 2015 and 2020, India shares 2% of the total ICSRs in VigiBase. India is now being recognized as a hub of global clinical trials and clinical research studies. Hence, it is the need of the hour in India to have a dynamic PV network system with an efficient and prudent operation method. Nevertheless, in India, PV programs are at an early stage on par with other countries, and only because of underreporting of ADRs. However, in the future, PvPI may appear as a big dashboard for ADR reporting culture in India as it continuously works hard to improve patients and drug safety.

Clinical profile of hospitalised moderate category COVID-19 patients: Short study from a Tertiary Care Centre in Delhi.

The clinical profile of hospitalized moderate-category COVID-19 patients has been understudied globally and in India. The present study was conducted to study the clinical profile and assess the proportions of patients who progressed to severe disease and its predictors among moderate COVID-19 patients. In this single-center observational study, 100 moderate-category COVID-19 patients as per Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) criteria of age ≥18 years of either sex, excluding pregnant females from February to November 2021, were studied by analyzing their clinical profiles and assessing Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS-2), and chest computed-tomography severity score (CTSS) to predict progression to severe disease. Severe disease was defined as per MoHFW criteria. Out of 100 moderate-category COVID-19 patients, progression to severe disease was seen in 11 patients (11%), among which eight patients had expired, three patients were discharged, and the rest of the 89 patients (89%) who did not progress to severe disease were discharged. A higher age (62.2± 19.5 vs 54.8 ± 14.6 years), along with multivariate analysis revealing male sex (1.25 times), chronic kidney disease (2.86 times), leukocytosis (6.10 times), thrombocytopenia (1.04 times), anemia (9.3 times), a higher qSOFA score (3.6 times), and a higher NEWS-2 score on admission (1.56 times) had higher odds of progression to severe disease. A significant correlation (P < .05) of qSOFA score with serum LDH, ferritin, and hs-CRP levels; CT severity score with the serum ferritin, IL-6, and LDH levels; and NEWS-2 with serum LDH, hs-CRP, and ferritin levels were found. Moreover, the NEWS-2 score was found slightly better than qSOFA on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, with an area under the curve of 85.8% and 83.2%, respectively, predicting progression to severe disease. Our study revealed male gender, chronic kidney disease, leukocytosis, anemia, thrombocytopenia, a higher qSOFA and NEWS-2 score on admission, and further, NEWS-2 score better than qSOFA on ROC curve analysis, with an area under the curve of 85.8% and 83.2%, respectively, in predicting severe disease among hospitalized moderate COVID-19 patients.

Trends Of Adult Height in India Using National Family Health Survey Data: A Systematic Review

The national family health survey (NFHS) is a multi-round, large scale, survey conducted throughout India in a customary sample of households. It was first conducted in 1992-93, till then five surveys have been conducted. The survey was done using four types of questionnaires namely Men’s, Women’s, Biomarker, and household. The survey was funded by many international Funding agencies likeUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) etc. In India department of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) has delegated the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai as a nodal agency for mutual support in the survey. Each survey of NFHS has two definite goalsi.ei) to anticipate data on family welfare and health for program and policy purposes and ii) to contribute an information on important family welfare and emerging health issues. Systematic review was conducted as per PRISMA guidelines, we carried out an extensive electronic search of PubMed, Google and Google Scholar to identify published studies on trends in adult height using NFHS India data. Out of a total 43 potential studies 38 were excluded and 5 relevant studies were used for final review. There is a decrease in average adult height in India. Despite of genetic, non-genetic factors like social, nutritional, and environmental plays a very important role in adult height.

Self-Medication Practices Among the Geriatric Population: A Systematic Literature Review.

The ageing population is increasingly using self-medication due to comorbidities. Most people who self-medicate use over-the-counter (OTC) medications bought from private pharmacies as their primary source of medicine. The use of self-medication may lead to an increased risk of unfavourable health outcomes. People over the age of 65 are more vulnerable to adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Our article aims to gain insights into self-medication in the geriatric population. We searched the Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) via Google Scholar and PubMed databases. The PubMed search technique was customised for each database and was as follows: (self-medication (Title/Abstract)) AND (geriatric (Title/Abstract) OR elderly (Title/Abstract) OR old (Title/Abstract)). Also, we used other databases like the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare(MOHFW) under the Government of India, etc. The keywords used for the search strategy were 'over-the-counter drugs', adverse drug reactions', self-prescribed drugs', and non-prescription drugs'. Articles that were not relevant to the review topic are excluded. Through our review, we found that most geriatric people use self-medication because of their previous experience with that medication, a lack of seriousness regarding the consequences of using OTC medications, and suggestions from family members, friends, or neighbours. Abdominal pain, headache, cough, joint pain, and fever are the conditions for which the geriatric age group mainly uses self-medication. The primary source of self-medication is directly from the pharmacy, and the most commonly consumed drug for self-medication is analgesics. Most people know about the risks associated with self-medication. However, people continue to participate in this risky self-medication behaviour to get quick relief from a mild illness. This issue can be resolved by providing such a group with free consultations or medical insurance. Pharmacists' role in self-medication is also important. Counselling regarding the hazards of self-medication and selling the drugs to consumers without a doctor's prescription must be avoided.

Influence of socio-demographic and environmental factors on child mortality in India

Background: According to National Family Health Survey (NFHS) report (round 5), under five child mortality rate is 42 per 1000 live births which is far behind the sustainable development goal and National Health Policy, 2017. This research work aims to investigate the socio-demographic and environmental risk factors associated with child mortality between age 0-59 months in India. Methods: To analyse the objective of this study secondary data of NFHS round 5 are used. NFHS is a large scale, multi-rounds survey conducted by ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) with the collaboration of International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai. Cox regression model is used for the statistical analysis and the data analysis work is carried out using R software. Results: The research found that mortality rate is higher among mother’s age less than 20 years and mother’s having no education. In rural areas mortality rate is high compared to urban residence. Birth order of child more than 6 has 2.0966 times higher risk to die and the male child is more likely die than the female. Children born to family having richest wealth index (HR=0.6550, CI: 0.5856-0.7327) has the least mortality rate. Use of polluting cooking fuel and unimproved sanitation facility increase death risk on under-five mortality 1.1334 times and 1.0905 times respectively. Conclusions: The study found a strong influence of socio-demographic and environmental factors on child mortality under the age of five.

Menstrual Hygiene Problems and Challenges Faced by Adolescent Females in Rural Areas: A Narrative Review.

Menstruation is a vital sign of reproductive health and development. Menstrual hygiene practices are consequently a significant public health issue. However, menstrual practices are still tainted by taboos and other sociocultural constraints, which adversely affect health since adolescent females in rural areas are unaware of the scientific facts regarding menstrual hygiene practices. The Indian government has recognized the significance of menstrual hygiene and developed and implemented several programs and schemes for menstrual hygiene management (MHM). But due to a lack of, little, or inaccurate knowledge and cultural practices and socio-economic status, adolescent females face many obstacles and suffer from health issues. A comprehensive literature and datasearch was done using key databases such as PubMed and Google Scholarand other sources such as the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and Google to identify the relevant articles and reviewed publications using full-text search. A total of 40 articles out of 1,461 were selected for review after the screening and elimination of repeated articles. The objective of this literature review is to assess the awareness and knowledge of the importance of menstruation, the understanding of safe menstruation practices, the significance of properly disposing of menstrual products, and the knowledge of how to guard against reproductive system infection and its consequences and also to identify the problems and challenges faced by adolescent females during their menstrual hygiene practices or management. The core of many health issues is misinformation, myths, erroneous beliefs, lack of awareness, and incomplete or incorrect knowledge about menstruation. Therefore, it is essential to teach adolescent females about hygienic behavior and safe menstrual practices.

The utilization of systematic review evidence in formulating India's National Health Programme guidelines between 2007 and 2021.

Evidence-informed policymaking integrates the best available evidence on programme outcomes to guide decisions at all stages of the policy process and its importance becomes more pronounced in resource-constrained settings. In this paper, we have reviewed the use of systematic review evidence in framing National Health Programme (NHP) guidelines in India. We searched official websites of the different NHPs, linked to the main website of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), in December 2020 and January 2021. NHP guideline documents with systematic review evidence were identified and information on the use of this evidence was extracted. We classified the identified systematic review evidence according to its use in the guideline documents and analysed the data to provide information on the different factors and patterns linked to the use of systematic review evidence in these documents. Systematic reviews were mostly visible in guideline documents addressing maternal and newborn health, communicable diseases and immunization. These systematic reviews were cited in the guidelines to justify the need for action, to justify recommendations for action and opportunities for local adaptation, and to highlight implementation challenges and justify implementation strategies. Guideline documents addressing implementation cited systematic reviews about the problems and policy options more often than citing systematic reviews about implementation. Systematic reviews were linked directly to support statements in few guideline documents, and sometimes the reviews were not appropriately cited. Most of the systematic reviews providing information on the nature and scale of the policy problem included Indian data. It was seen that since 2014, India has been increasingly using systematic review evidence for public health policymaking, particularly for some of its high-priority NHPs. This complements the increasing investment in research synthesis centres and procedures to support evidence-informed decision making, demonstrating the continued evolution of India's evidence policy system.

Public Branding, Brand Knowledge and Perceived Realism – A Discourse Analysis of the Official Press Releases of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GoI)

Public Branding, Brand Knowledge and Perceived Realism – A Discourse Analysis of the Official Press Releases of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GoI)

Perception, perceived scope, and potential barriers towards developing nurse practitioners cadre among health care providers and beneficiaries: A pilot study from Northern India.

The role of nurse practitioner (NP) emerged in early 1965 when general practitioners began working with nurses. Evidence across the world highlights the benefits achieved by the NP role. The Indian Nursing Council (INC) implemented a country-wide NP in critical care (NPCC) program with the approval of the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW) in 2017. The NP role is in its infancy in India. Hence, there is a need to assess the perception among beneficiaries and healthcare personnel. This study was conducted to assess the perception, perceived scope, and potential barriers for developing the role of NPs in India among beneficiaries and healthcare providers. A descriptive, cross-sectional pilot study was conducted at AIIMS Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India, among 205 participants (84 beneficiaries, 78 nurses, and 43 physicians) using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. Likert scales and socio-demographic sheets were used to assess the perception, perceived scope of practice, and potential barriers in developing a NP cadre in India. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing data. The mean age of beneficiaries was 37.98, nurses was 27.58, and physicians was 28.13 years, respectively. 121 (61%) of participants were highly favored, and 77 (38%) were in favor of developing NP cadre in India. They considered it to be necessary, feasible, and acceptable in India. The feasibility and necessity of the perception domain were highly significant (P < 0.001 and P < 0.003, respectively). Nurses (mean ± SD: 35.36 ± 3.55) considered that NPs could have a wide range of practice followed by beneficiaries (mean ± SD: 38.17 ± 3.68) than physicians (mean ± SD: 34.75 ± 5.95). Lack of awareness, the nonexistence of cadre structure, lack of acceptance of the role of physicians, and lack of clear policy were the key potential barriers to develop an NP cadre in India. In this study, participants had favorable views on employing NPs in India; thus, this role will improve healthcare access for beneficiaries. NPs can carry out a wide range of practices.However, a lack of awareness, no cadre structure, and a lack of a clear policy may hinder the development of the NP cadre in India.

Integration of national tuberculosis elimination programme with child and adolescent health: India on track of end tuberculosis strategy

As per the global tuberculosis (TB) report 2020, 56% adult males, 32% adult females and 12% children worldwide, have TB. In India, an estimated 3.33 lakh children in the 0-14 years age group become ill with TB each year (28% of global childhood TB burden), with a slightly higher burden among males. In 2019, the national tuberculosis elimination programme (NTEP) reported 1.5 lakh TB cases of children aged 0-14 years, indicating a gap of 55% in TB notifications in this age group.1 In order to address the gaps in pediatric TB coverage, the NTEP collaborated with child health and adolescent health programmes of the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW). The two primary health programmes that serve children and adolescents across the country are Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) and Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK), respectively. This integration will bring the country forward towards the efforts of its goal to achieve the target of end TB strategy. 

Strengthening resistance testing for tuberculosis in India - Investment cost, throughput, and efficiency of new laboratories

A lack of laboratory capacity for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) testing is a major barrier to DR-TB control. To overcome this barrier, the Central Tuberculosis Division (CTD), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GoI), and FIND India established a partnership under the National Tuberculosis Elimination Program (NTEP) to strengthen and expand tuberculosis (TB) laboratory diagnostic capabilities. This partnership has led to the establishment of 61 culture & DST laboratories, increasing the testing capacity to a capability of performing over 200,000 liquid cultures and over 170,000 molecular drug sensitivity tests annually. In this study, we assess the data on throughput, efficiency, investment cost, and the capacity of the laboratory services supported by this partnership to understand impact and inform future resource allocation. We estimated the technical efficiency using Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). Our results show that the established laboratory network is operating at 69% efficiency, with the capacity to perform an additional 450,000 cultures and 180,000 first-line molecular drug-susceptibility tests by 2025. This additional capacity, together with current efforts to enhance the laboratory network, has the potential to make a significant contribution to NTEP's TB elimination target by 2025.

The Multifaceted Influence of COVID-19 on Indian Dentists: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

IntroductionCOVID-19 has had a new challenge on dental workers, radically altering clinical and personal management. The cross-sectional survey sought to examine and comprehend the influence of COVID-19 on Indian dentistry practitioners.MethodsA 38-item questionnaire-based survey was communicated to Indian dental practitioners through a web-based form (Google form). The questionnaire was categorized into four sections: (i) Personal protective equipment (PPE), (ii) dental treatments, (iii) auxiliary management, and (iv) personal impact. The findings were examined and studied in order to comprehend the repercussions of COVID-19. The questionnaire was completed by 513 of the 1129 dentists to whom it was delivered.ResultsFor the current questionnaire, a response rate that we received was 45.44%. When compared to the pre-pandemic era, the use of PPE has increased dramatically (95.7%). The use of PPE alleviated dental practitioners’ and patients’ doubts about viral transmission. The epidemic prompted the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to issue specific recommendations for dental treatments, which were followed by 92.5% of dentists. The majority of dentists reported a considerable impact on both financial and mental health concerns. Teleconsulting and distant learning gained greater prominence. The COVID-19 epidemic affected the lives of dental professionals both within and outside of the dental setting, as well as the auxiliary.ConclusionCOVID-19 has left a trail of devastation in its aftermath. Dentists were affected both emotionally and professionally. Dentists rapidly and uniformly followed the revised recommendations.

Impact of COVID-19 on gross value added of Indian service sector

This paper attempt to analyze the Covid -19 pandemic impact on the gross value added of the Indian service sector. The purpose of present study is to examine the relationship between the number of Covid -19 confirmed cases in India and gross value added of service sector and sub-service sector of India. The results of the study suggest that number of Covid -19 confirmed cases have a negative impact on the gross value added of the service sector and sub-service sectors of India. However, the negative impact of Covid -19 confirmed cases on the gross value added of the service sector and sub-service sectors of India is not statistically significant. This study also suggests what steps the government can take to revitalize the service sector. The present study is quantitative. For the purpose of study data collected from FY 2019 to the first quarter of FY 2021-22. The study is based on secondary data. The database of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation was the source of information for the Indian Service Sector GVA and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) was the source of information for the number of confirmed Covid -19 cases in India. 

Challenges of performing essential public health functions by the physicians at leadership positions in peripheral level government health system in Bangladesh: A qualitative exploratory study.

IntroductionIdentifying and ensuring the Essential Public Health Functions (EPHFs) is one of the core agendas of the World Health Organization to strengthen the health system of a country. The definition of EPHFs varies widely, considering country needs. In Bangladesh, the physician cadres are in the leadership position to oversee the EPHFs at the district and sub-district levels. However, there is a dearth of contextual information regarding the purview of essential EPHFs in the country. The purpose of this study was to document the perception of key stakeholders on what constitute the EPHFs at district and sub-district level and identify the challenges they face in providing the services.MethodsWe carried out a qualitative exploratory study consisting of document review and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). The desk review included the organograms of the government district and sub-district level health facilities and the job description of Civil Surgeons (CSs) and Upazila Health and Family Planning Officers (UHFPOs). In addition, 15 KIIs with relevant professionals and stakeholders from the Directorate of General of Health Services (DGHS), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) were conducted. Collected data were analyzed thematically.ResultsThree major categories of EPHFs were identified: i) population-oriented preventive functions, ii) clinical preventive functions, and iii) administrative/management functions. The CSs and UHFPOs need to ensure these wide range of EPHFs at the district level and below. However, at peripheral level, the leadership positions’ clinical and public health roles often get amalgamated. Therefore, ensuring public health functions are hampered. Besides, these positions need training and adequate support staff to perform the EPHFs effectively.ConclusionRecognizing the EPHFs in the Bangladesh context is crucial. Revisiting the job descriptions and strengthening appropriate public health services at different tiers in the country health system should be prioritized to achieve health-related Sustainable Development Goals.