PLENARY SESSION

Day 2, Friday, 4-01-2013

1^st plenary session

EMERGING PARADIGMS IN GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH

Time                             :  9.15- 11.00 am

Venue                           : Golden Aureole 

Chair                       : Prof Jed Metzger, Nazareth College, USA.

Dr. Gopala Krishnan was the first presenter. He presented about Public Health Intervention in Communicable Diseases.  He mentioned about the various types of diseases and classified it into three.

·        Communicable

·        Non-communicable

·        Mental health diseases

 The major focus should be on prevention than treatment also eradication, elimination and control of diseases should be taken care of. The major question that needs to be answered by the medical professionals is the drastic change in disease pattern. Life expectancy and its relation to modern medical progress (is directly proportional in his observation). Vaccination is at most necessary to prevent certain communicable diseases. The water pollution in Kerala is one of the contributing reasons for the increase in communicable diseases (especially vector bone diseases).

Recommendations

Intervention in public health should include

Health promotion

Specific protection

Curative service

Rehabilitation

Dr. Junaid Rahaman presented about Emerging Public Health Issues and Challenges in Global and Regional Contexts. The major points of discussion were the Emergence of diseases i.e. the diseases once eradicated are re occurring. According to statistical data the no. of people dying from communicable diseases are 17 million which would be much more. The vaccination has a major role in prevention and eradication of diseases. Dengue fever is one of the most common disease that needs to be addressed seriously.

Recommendations

Vaccinations are necessary and play a key role in prevention of diseases. Free medicines should be provided to improve health status.

Dr. Giridhar R Babu presented about Public Health Intervention in the Context of Communicable Diseases. The major points discussed were the factors affecting heath, the differences in the health statistics in various states of the nation etc. The Right to heath is the basic right of every one and hence pure air water rand food should be given.  He also pointed out that “We should aim to “reach the unreached “.

Recommendations
The expenditure on primary health care should account for at least 70% of all heath care expenses and should give general information and should facilitate promotion. 


                                                     CHAIRPERSON : Prof Jed Metzger

                                                                Dr. Gopala Krishan

                                                                     Dr. Junid Rehman

                                                             
                                                                Dr. Giridner Babu

 Day 2, Friday, 4-01-2013



Plenary session 2



PUBLIC HEALTH PRACTICE SCENARIOS



Time                    : 11.30- 1.15

Venue                  : Golden Aureole



Chair                   : Prof. Raju Varghese, University of Maryland, Baltimore, USA.



Three resource persons presented in this session.

o   Dr. Sreehari M-  Govt. Response to Public Health Needs: The NRHM

i)        The main topic of discussion was about Healthy Kerala, Arogyakeralam. Dr. Sreehari stressed about the five year experience of Arogyakeralam, major achievements, innovations and initiatives. Major initiatives of Kerala in the field of NRHM are making doctors available in all levels, re-orienting ASHA’s to look after NCDS- a major step in the context of State. E-banking, pain and palliative care, floating dispensary, hospitals getting a facelift, school health programme are also part of the initiatives. He added that the state of Kerala has been facing critical shortage of manpower in medical care. The presentation concluded by focusing on the major challenges faced by NRHM. They are Ineffective REFERRAL system - Quality of care, too much thrust on curative care & decreasing priority for preventive & promotive care, lack of safe drinking water, issues on sanitation & hygiene esp. in urban areas, critical shortage of man power etc.

o   Mr. Sonnykutty George-   Women and children and health in the context of Millenium Development Goals(MDGs)

ii)       Mr. Sonnykutty focused on child mortality and maternal health among the eight millennium development goals. In Kerala infant mortality rate is twelve percent while in Madhya Pradesh, it is sixty seven percent. He stressed that India will not achieve Millennium Developmental Goals for  child survival by 2015. The reason is the high level of neonatal mortality. In the maternal health, he talked about adolescent pregnancies and childbirth and the spacing between two childbirths.

o   Dr. Claudia Lang-   Integrating Ayurveda into Public Mental Health in Kerala.

iii)     Dr.Claudia Lang focused  on three kinds of therapy (cikitsā) in Sutrasthanam, (Caraka Samhita) (11.54) that  spiritual treatment, rational or medical  treatment and  psychotherapy (refraining the mind from unwholesome objects’, ‘controlling’, ‘disciplining’ or ‘winning the mind’, ‘self-control’). She suggested that KSMHA should integrate Ayurveda into its programmes, NMHP and DMHP should include ayurvedic psychiatrists, psychiatric departments in all ayurveda colleges, psychiatric units in all district ayurveda hospitals, more teaching hours on mental health in BAMS syllabus, to create awareness of ayurvedic general physicians and to promote research in ayurvedic psychiatry. She thrusted to acknowledge ayurvedic psychiatry as a valuable approach towards mental health


                                              
                                                 CHAIRPERSON : - Prof.Raju Varghese

                                                     
                                                                      Dr.Sreehari M

             
                                                                   Dr.Claudia Lang

                                                               
                                                                   Mr.Sonny kutty

.