Anant Kumar

Xavier Institute of Social Service · Department of Rural Management

This commentary is an attempt to understand the changing family dynamics, its structure, values, rising individualism, and its impact leading to abuse and neglect of parents in India. It discusses the adjustment challenges faced by the parents and other family members. It also highlights and analyses the transition taking place within families from...

Promoting mobility by public transport, rather than individual automobiles, is a worldwide accepted and promoted sustainable solution. Traditionally, cycle-rickshaws have been the backbone of localised transportation in cities in India, thus a key component of 'Last Mile Connectivity' (LMC) in the urban transport sector. However, in the last few ye...

Background With increased penetration of the internet and social media, there are concerns regarding its negative role in influencing parents’ decisions regarding vaccination for their children. It is perceived that a mix of religious reasons and propaganda by anti-vaccination groups on social media are lowering the vaccination coverage in Malappur...

Full Text: https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s12119-020-09715-7?author_access_token=jdVi1BQYzpGrkwpo0zGtGfe4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY6Uk6HDNFcwdyFWx3f_Qad5qFD_gA5vBJgomgMGbdHx4__GkfRtXBqRWA2DrZh47HV1NljjUKN9fCGCq-0DAidy_7K6s0kXjq3fGX3Yve8xjA%3D%3D

Uncertainties and the uncontrolled spread of the virus have led to anxiety, fear, stigma, and discrimination. It is common during pandemics where people blame others to soothe their fear in the absence of unknown dimensions associated with the pandemic. It is speculated that COVID-19 may lead to heightened fear and anxiety leading to prejudice, soc...

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown to mitigate the spread of the pandemic has led to social isolation, reduced social support system and increased cases of domestic violence against women. The United Nations and other international and national agencies speculate further increase in it and have suggested governments to take appropriate a...

preparedness to deal with mass fatality. The current trend shows that there would be more bodies than the capacity and resources to handle them. The international agencies have alerted governments that the number of deaths may overwhelm the local capacity to handle dead bodies properly; suggesting mass fatality management and planning so that the d...

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has multifaceted impacts on children, that is psychological, mental, physical, social and cultural. Forty-one per cent of India’s population is less than 18 years of age, and their mental health issues cannot be neglected during the pandemic and postpandemic. These effects are not limited to health and we...

This commentary highlights the potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for India’s rural population in India. The rural health care system is not adequate or prepared to contain COVID-19 transmission, especially in many densely populated northern Indian States because of the shortage of doctors, hospital beds, and equipment. The COVID-19 ep...

Violence against women in Jharkhand State of India, is widespread and growing across class and caste boundaries. This not only poses a serious threat to women’s dignity, but also has adverse consequences for the society, family and children’s well-being. In this context, this paper explores and discusses the various factors behind violence against...

The underlying causes for the ethnic, religious, and political divides among the tribals of Jharkhand have been examined. Tribal leaders have failed in uniting the tribal society of Jharkhand, leading to divisive and fragmented politics among them. The tribal leaders of today need to realise and understand that any further divide will weaken their...

There are instances where women have misused anti-dowry or violence against women laws to maliciously implicate and harass men and their family members. Despite being innocent, families are lagging behind bars in prison for years. The men and their family members believe that they do not have adequate legal provision or protection. They are demandi...

Transition triad is accelerating the chronic disease epidemic in developing countries. Around 50% of cardiovascular diseases can be attributed to hypertension. Eighty percent of global occurrence of cardiovascular disease is in developing countries. This transition is faster in Kerala than any other state in India. Prehypertensive individuals are a...

The interest to create happiness in a gloomy world riddled with crises and turmoil appears to be the new agenda of international organisations. The artificial creation and representation of happiness from sample surveys could be problematic as it may not lead to genuine expression, but could lead to ignoring the larger structural and social determi...

Income and its proper financial management is one of the major challenges for the Rickshaw Pullers. This study intends to explore and understand the income and saving habits among the Rickshaw Pullers in Ranchi city of Jharkhand state in India with special reference to challenges towards accessibility, affordability, and linkages with financial ins...

The origin of modern public health as an academic discipline goes back to the 19th century. However, a concern towards the health of masses has always existed in all societies. The principles of public health in earlier times were guided more by the notions of the commons, wellbeing, and local knowledge. In recent times, our understanding and pract...

The unsanitary and uncivilized act of spitting is a culture-specific c syndrome. New strategies need to be designed to tackle this problem.

Tobacco use and smoking is among the top five causes of mortality and morbidity in Kurdistan region of Iraq. The Kurdish Association for Fighting Smoking reports that 54 percent of the Kurdish population smokes. Although smoking is not new in Kurdistan, hookah smoking has emerged as a new fashion among both young men and young women. The commentary...

Introduction: Health registries are valuable resources for epidemiology. It allows exploring large population level data as new hypotheses arise and test for multiple causal factors. More innovative ideas need to be integrated with current data collection designs to make registries economically feasible. Most Low and middle income countries have ru...

Background H ealth registries are valuable resources for epidemiology. It allows exploring large population level data as new hypotheses arise and test for multiple causal factors. Wide variation exists in definition of health registries but generally they are database for storing information and particularly for health information at a population...

Introduction: Health registries are valuable resources for epidemiology. It allows exploring large population level data as new hypotheses arise and test for multiple causal factors. More innovative ideas need to be integrated with current data collection designs to make registries economically feasible. Most Low and middle income countries have ru...

A significant number of ‘marginalised’ population groups are denied of their health rights, its access, benefits of government health programmes, and other health related social security benefits. These population groups, particularly the Rickshaw Pullers are vulnerable because of their poor social and economic status, migration history, lack of pe...

The government needs to find a mechanism to ban child pornography, and not pornography as a whole, without appearing to be a censoring filter for content on the internet. See more at: http://www.epw.in/journal/2016/13/web-exclusives/banning-child-pornography.html#sthash.u5uVb3rh.dpuf

Cleft lip and palate is a very common condition which is globally undertreated. This case report shows how cleft lip surgery can transform patient's lives, self-perception, and their self-esteem through a visionary and adaptive leadership of a few social workers and medical doctors in resource constrained settings. The case report also shows that w...

Cleft lip and palate is a very common condition which is globally undertreated. This case report shows how cleft lip surgery can transform patient’s lives, self-perception, and their self-esteem through a visionary and adaptive leadership of a few social workers and medical doctors in resource constrained settings. The case report also shows that w...

The existing gender analysis frameworks start with a premise that men and women are equal and should be treated equally. These frameworks give emphasis on equal distribution of resources between men and women and believe that this will bring equality which is not always true. Despite equal distribution of resources, women tend to suffer and experie...

Distressed by the death of Mumtaz, Shah Jahan built Taj Mahal in her memory. However, on the other side of the world during the same century (17th century) in Sweden, the Queen Ulrika Eleonora, also distraught by losing people close to her, took a different approach than that of the Shah Jahan in India. She put out a mandate to her Swedish physicia...

The cynical manipulation of the state's people by Jharkhand's political class on the domicile policy issue is leading to resentment and distrust, especially between the tribals and non-tribals. These leaders are raking up the "outsiders" issue to divert attention from corruption and poor governance that they have subjected the state to. T he politi...

The recent controversy among Christian and non-Christian tribals over the portrayal of Mother Mary (statue) in Singpur village in Dhurwa near Ranchi, if not solved amicably, could have far reaching consequences for the social harmony of Jharkhand.

This book presents a visionary leadership framework and its application to deliver superior value in health. It provides an insight on how to create shared vision, assess vision-reality gap, identify paths to pursue, inspire and empower stakeholders, and utilize results-based management to deliver superior value. The volume is based on training mod...

The mechanism of women self-help groups for alleviating poverty and empowering women have been functional across various parts of India over the last few decades. This mechanism aims to engage women in income generation activities and thereby make them economically self-reliant by providing them with customized savings and credit facilities for the...

Violence against women is a serious social and mental health problem and human rights abuse worldwide. It is an extremely complex phenomenon, deeply rooted in gender based power relations, sexuality, self-identity, and social institutions that pose a serious threat to women's mental health. This paper discusses the various factors behind violence a...

Operations research is mainly applied to decision making in industries and corporations using quantitative methods to optimize production. The applications of operations research in social sciences research or health research in HIV, service delivery, and program performance improvement are minimal. Considering the complexity of the HIV/AIDS epidem...

The recent flash flood, cloudbursts and landslides in five districts of Uttarakhand pose serious questions about our preparedness to deal with mass fatality in India. Management of dead bodies in a proper and dignified manner is one of the most difficult aspects of disaster response. Despite several disasters, the government still does not have a p...

Training needs assessments are pivotal for any capacity building program. Building capacity of service providers and staff involved in HIV/AIDS intervention programs is crucial because of the distinct nature of such programs. It requires specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are of utmost importance, influencing the reach of the program an...

Medical and Health Commons (MHC) are any sets of resources and institutions including the individuals that a community recognizes as being accessible to all members of that community in improving their health and wellbeing. Although commons literature recognizes medical and health commons as an emerging commons, individuals as medical and health co...

Commons are neither private property nor open access resources. This is not nationalised property either. Commons are the resources used by recognizable group of people who derive their livelihood (part or full) from these as well as recognize their role as steward or guardian of the same resources. Governance of commons has become immensely sign...

The chapter reviews the importance of collaboration and partnership for global health and tries to develop an understanding of the challenges and opportunities related to fostering global health collaborations and partnerships.

The purpose of this chapter is to carry out situational analysis and identify future directions for population stabilisation in Bihar, India through examining the programmes and policies that would help achieve this.

In the past five-six years, many people, friends, and students showed interest and contacted me to take my advice about opening a Non Government Organisation (NGO). Most of these people were doing well in their life but their hearts were crying to help people and bring change in the society. They were moved by the poverty, illiteracy, etc, (as expr...

This article is an attempt to present and elaborate the HIV/AIDS scenario in Jharkhand state of India, services available, key issues, challenges, and concerns at various levels to mitigate the epidemic. It also examines the role of different stakeholders and agencies in halting and reversing the epidemic. The findings show that there are various c...

This article reviews and discusses the problems, responses, and concerns of orphans and vulnerable children in India. The article shows that HIV/AIDS programs and interventions are vital for survival and welfare of orphan and vulnerable children, but they have reached only to a small fraction of the most vulnerable children. The article suggests a...

In the absence of any systemic data, with more men coming up and reporting violence by women, it is important to understand and examine the issue of violence against men by women and associated factors. With changing gender roles and power relations, the author predicts that this will increase in the future, which will have far-reaching consequence...

The study highlights the challenges and opportunities in HIV/AIDS counseling. The major challenges are recruiting the right individuals and their capacity building and retention. The finding shows that most of the counselors are not befitting in terms of qualification and experience besides motivation, remuneration, and other issues. The study sugg...

Mental health services in India are neglected area which needs immediate attention from the government, policymakers, and civil society or- ganizations. Despite, National Mental Health Pro- gramme since 1982 and National Rural Health Mission, there has been a very little effort so far to provide mental health services in rural areas. With increase...

The study attempts to find out the existing social and cultural practices regarding menstruation, awareness levels, and the behavioral changes that come about in adolescent girls during menstruation, their perception about menarche, how do they treat it, and the various taboos, norms, and cultural practices associated with menarche. The study was c...

Improving rural health service delivery is a major challenge in India as 73 percent of its population resides in rural areas. Recognizing the need to improve rural health service delivery, the Government of India launched the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in 2005. The NRHM aims to undertake architectural correction of the rural health system...

Aim: To present the epidemiology of brucellosis and to assess and suggest public health intervention strategies to control brucellosis in rural India. Methods: The paper is based on a review of various serological and other studies and evidence on brucellosis in India. Results: Brucellosis is present in all livestock systems. Although the true...

The book highlights the Mental Health services in India from public health perspective considering preventive and curative aspects of mental health recognising the socio cultural factors in mental health services. It looks into the various conceptual issues and concerns related to mental health services in India. Author has made an attempt to under...

One of the important inputs for NRHM is the recruitment of Sahiyas as link between community and health system. Although the Sahiyas selection and training have been done, at several places, the parameters for selection and training are not being followed. Based on a force-field analysis of Sahiyas’ performance, the paper outline some suggested act...

The paper is an attempt to understand the role of males in reproductive and sexual health decisions in relation to sexual and reproductive health rights and reproductive health programs including women's empowerment, and male involvement.

With the United Nations Millenium Declaration of 2000, the establishment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) has been identified as a significant strategy in addressing the alarming levels of poverty and marginalisation that have accompanied global development. SHGs are small, voluntary associations of people from the same socio-economic background that hav...

Citing a case of Taj Mahal, the paper examines maternal death and issues emblematic of reproductive health in India today. It compares maternal death 382 years ago and today and suggests solutions to improve maternal health and reduce maternal mortality.

People's health and well being are considered as one of the major indicators of development. In Jharkhand, if this indicator is used, then its level of development leaves much to be desired. The state is confronted with many grave challenges in the health sector. A sizeable share of population remains deprived of basic health care facilities despit...

The case-study highlights the issue related to leadership, systems and role of team building to ensure longer term impact.

This case study shows that how Communities or beneficiaries can be empowered by ensuring their participation in programme development, assessment and outreach.

This paper attempts to examine and understand the low literacy level and education among tribal children in Jharkhand. The paper discusses the role of government, institutions, programmes and linkages between education and development. Various programmes and schemes have been initiated but very few of them have reached the tribal children and benef...

The current study was carried out to find out patients' needs related to insulin therapy, and to understand the current practices and missing links from the public health perspective. The study was conducted in urban Delhi. The sample was selected using the multi-stage sampling technique. Structured interviews were used to collect data from respond...

With the United Nations Millenium Declaration of 2000, the establishment of Self-Help Groups (SHGs) has been identified as a significant strategy in addressing the alarming levels of poverty and marginalisation that have accompanied global development. SHGs are small, voluntary associations of people from the same socio-economic background that hav...

The case study highlights the issues related to NGO Ethics, Governance and Effectiveness of Fund Distribution, and Organization structure. The case shows that It is not necessary that leadership and organisational skill of the head of the organisation will get translated in his/her organisation. Individual interest, character and motive play an imp...

The commentary is based on field visits, and interaction with over four hundred NGO's representatives, staff and functionaries in Bihar. It highlights the development of NGOs in Bihar and issues associated with credibility and transparency.

The paper suggests that investing in adolescents' health and rights will yield large benefits for generations to come.

The paper discusses that although health problems need to be controlled by evolving an efficient and responsive healthcare services, an appropriate social policy which addresses the poor living conditions and social arrangements could act as a catalyst for health improvement. Health improvement is a complex phenomenon and cannot occur just by isola...

The paper examines the state of mental health services in India from a public health perspective, considering preventive and promotive aspects of mental health and recognising the socio-cultural factors in mental health services. The study also review the development of mental health services in India and to analyse the implementation of the Distri...

In any discourse on poverty, it is necessary to define and understand the concept of poverty in the larger context without losing the local context. Such an understanding should be based on a perspective that focuses on benefits accruing to the poor or deprived sections of the population in their own milieu.We have seen that in most development dis...

The paper discusses about rights of the disabled.

Mental health, India

There have been innovative initiatives in the private sector in a number of areas of mental health. The most notable of these are crisis intervention, rehabilitation of the mentally ill, and care of the elderly and street children. Voluntary organizations should be given greater importance and encouraged to participate to a greater extent in mentat...

Adolescent girls need to be considered as a special target group by schemes and development programmes. They need a package of services / facilities, which will enhance their capacity for advancement and enable them to become capable citizens.