Multi-strategy plan for public health mooted

CHENNAI: The Tuberculosis Research Centre was officially renamed as the National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis on its 55th foundation day and the centenary year celebration of the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), here on Monday.Dr S M Mehendele, director, National Institute of Epidemiology, in his centenary oration, said that a multi-strategy approach will pave way for affordable innovations and technology to tackle public health issues.He said that the ICMR institutes should create the right channels to identify research priorities and design strategies to deliver health services. Involving multiple stakeholders will aid in identifying locally-relevant research priorities.He also stressed the need to reach out to rural communities and the economically disadvantaged to improve their access to healthcare. The PHCs and CHCs should become independent centres capable of providing quality service. Programmatic research can help in identifying the current roadblocks and design appropriate solutions, he opined.“Using the JALMA model of the Rural Health Research Unit at Ghatampur, our DG has proposed to set up five centers across India. This model is based on collaborative work between the Department of Public Health, Directorate of Medical Education and the local ICMR institute,” he explained.This initiative will play a significant role in establishing research capacity at villages and small towns. He also pointed out the need to evolve an effective health communication apart from highlighting the importance of community-based diagnosis and early intervention. “We must develop community-based cohorts of large population where our institutes would record and update demographic details and vital events, carry out surveillance and screening for early case detection, maintain morbidity and migration records, monitor risk factors, investigate outbreaks, study community behaviour and disease trends over time,” he said.He called for increased networking and partnerships with National Rural Health Mission, health programmes, medical universities and colleges so as to cut down research costs by sharing resources .