The Amrita Non-communicable Disease Prevention Training Unit (NPTU) was inaugurated at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi on May 17, 2014. The unit is a collaborative effort with United Health and National Heart Lung & Blood Institute (UH-NHLBI) Center of Excellence.
On the same day, a workshop on Non-communicable Disease Prevention Initiatives & Research was also held. The program was jointly organized by the Departments of Internal Medicine, Medical Administration and Community Medicine at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi.
Dr. K. V. Beena, State Program Director for National Health Mission inaugurated NPTU and the workshop in the presence of Dr. Prem Nair, Medical Director, AIMS and Dr. Prathapan Nair, Principal, Amrita School of Medicine. In her inaugural talk, Dr. Beena presented a snapshot of Non-communicable Disease (NCD) initiatives and future plans undertaken by Government of Kerala. She also highlighted Lifestyle Education and Awareness Program in Schools (LEAP) to spread awareness of lifestyle diseases among school children.
A ten member panel discussion spanning over an hour reviewed the scope of collaboration between public and private hospitals for various opportunities such as utilization of telemedicine services and doctor bank. A proposal to establish cost-effective treatment and follow-up protocols was also put forth to be developed as MODELs of care. Available palliative care resources for end-stage illness were also reviewed. Participating hospitals were encouraged to be part of mass screening campaigns. Collaboration for training paramedical and multidisciplinary teams was also planned. Thus many areas were now identified for continuing the dialogue on private public collaboration.
Dr. Usha Menon, Associate Professor, Department of Endocrinology, AIMS, presented her study on AIMS Community Initiatives on Diabetes. She also elaborated on her efforts with Amrita Diabetes and Endocrine Population Survey (ADEPS).
Dr. Jaideep C. Menon, Cardiologist, MAGJ Hospital, Mookkannoor, Ernakulam district, presented his work on the Epidemiology of Non-Communicable Diseases in Rural Areas (ENDIRA).
Dr. Alben Sigamani, Associate Professor, Division of Clinical Research and Training, St. John’s Research Institute, Bangalore, presented a comprehensive overview of Clinical Research Methodology and Clinical Trial Designs. He focused on observational study designs and randomized controlled trials.
Dr. Manuraj, Associate Professor of Paediatrics at AIMS, Kochi, reviewed his work on school level intervention programs for cardiovascular diseases. He spoke about longitudinal follow-up and regional variation among schools in Ernakulam district.
Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist, Sunrise Hospital, Kochi, spoke about making smart choices in health for prevention of non-communicable diseases. He also spoke about preventing liver disease by avoiding alcohol use. Colon cancer incidence and screening was the last section of his talk.
Sri. Gangadharan, Consultant Biostatistician at AIMS spoke on Cancer Registry in general and the AIMS Cancer Registry in particular. Based on the data, he spoke about the age-adjusted cancer incidence for breast, ovarian and cervical cancer. He also touched upon Amrita’s efforts for cancer control including education, screening, treatment and research.
Dr. Paul T. Francis, Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, AIMS discussed integrated Non-communicable Disease (NCD) prevention strategies.
The program concluded with a roadmap for future including plan for workshops with similar themes. Breakout sessions were also planned with focus on each NCDs with respect to training, research and advocacy.
May 17, 2014
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi
