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Half the world’s people currently live in rural and remote areas. About 70% of the world’s 1.4 billion people who are extremely poor live in rural areas. The problem is that the majority of healthcare providers prefer to serve in urban areas. Only a comprehensive and systematic approach can address these inequities. India, the largest democratic republic in the world, possesses 2.4% of the world’s land area and supports 16% of the world’s population. According to census 2011, 68.84% of population resides in rural areas. Nearly 86% of all the medical visits in India are made by rural inhabitants with a majority still traveling more than 100 km to avail healthcare facility, of which 70%–80% is born out of pocket landing them in poverty. A country’s approach must systematically and simultaneously address legal coverage and rights, health worker shortages, extension of healthcare protection, and quality of care. Only then can equitable access for all be fully achieved. Those living in rural areas have access to health protection and services that meet the criteria of availability, affordability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality. Family medicine as a broad specialty has its role from womb till tomb. Family medicine is defined as a specialty of medicine which is concerned with providing comprehensive care to individuals and families by integrating biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences. As an academic discipline, it includes comprehensive healthcare services, education, and research. A family doctor provides primary and continuing care to the entire family within the communities; addresses physical, psychological, and social problems; and coordinates comprehensive healthcare services with other specialists, as needed. The practitioners in family medicine can play an important role in providing healthcare services to the suffering humanity. The general practitioner’s responsibility in Medicare includes management of emergencies, treatment of problems relating to various medical and surgical specialties, care of entire family in its environment, appropriate referrals, and follow-up. He or she is the first-level contact for the patients and his or her family. Family medicine is the ideal solution to growing rural healthcare challenges. This article is a formal position paper of the Academy of Family Physicians of India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 12th Plan highlighted Equity, Access & Excellence as the tripod of India's education policy. The RTE Act 2009 has ensured a high level of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER). However, the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) present a dismal picture of the outcome dimensions of our schooling system. The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) therefore, highlights the importance of quality as an important conjoint of universal access, as skill based education will ensure proper employment opportunity. Education is a major enabler for empowerment for all; and in particular for extremely vulnerable sections of the society like STs. The tribal students are handicapped multi-dimensionally, with education as a critical fault line. This paper analyses the policy initiatives to educate and empower them and brings out the bleak picture that bedevil this neglected segment. It contrasts the experience of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in terms of promoting gender parity, vocational training, health alleviation, dignity of the girl child and educational outcomes as compared to their counterparts in government and SC/ST schools. The paper also highlights the unique funding model of KISS and its potential for replication. Inclusive growth and quality can work how in hand. The paper strongly argues for government's handholding through "Skill India" initiative and funding unique initiatives as KISS.

Sustainable Development Goal Target 4.2.1 is monitored by determining the proportion of children aged 24 to 59 months who are developmentally on track in the domains of health, learning, and psychosocial well-being. UNICEF has developed a caregiver report measure, the Early Childhood Development Index 2030 (ECDI2030), to measure progress towards this target. This paper examines whether a newly developed tool, the Early Childhood Development Assessment Scale--Direct Assessment (ECDAS-DA) can add value to the measurement of Target Indicator 4.2.1 by complementing UNICEF's ECDI2030, and explores the psychometric properties of the ECDAS-DA. A total of 956 children (476 girls) aged 3 to 5 years from Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar were administered the ECDAS-DA in individual sessions. Caregivers provided responses to a survey based on UNICEF's ECDI2030. Confirmatory Factor Analyses indicated that learning, health, and psychosocial well-being domains of the ECDAS-DA were three component parts of one underlying construct of early child development. Significant correlations between the ECDAS-DA and the caregiver-reported ECDI2030 survey were found in the learning and health domains but findings were mixed for the psychosocial well-being domain. Multiple measures of early development could be important in measuring SDG Target 4.2.1 and the ECDAS-DA has the potential to complement UNICEF's ECDI2030.

Purpose: The goal of this research is to create a conceptual model that identifies the relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management practices and its contribution to the circular economy. The focus of this research is to identify the organizational learning and green human resource factors that lead to a more circular economic transformation. Design/methodology/approach: The importance of the interaction of factors benefiting both individuals and organizations has been comprehensively explained by combining two well-known theories: resource-based view theory and organizational learning theory. As learning entails change, a climate of organizational learning combined with green human resource practices will efficiently help firms transition to a circular economy. The authors establish a conceptual model in this study, which they then apply to the small- and medium-sized manufacturing industry and report on in the second paper. Findings: This study concentrates on the factors of organizational learning and green human resource management practices that help to create a circular economy after conducting a thorough literature analysis and consulting with experts. Research limitations/implications: The conceptual model can be applied to organizations in any industry. In the second part, the authors would investigate the interaction of the indicated factors and build their structural hierarchy using the total interpretive structural modelling method for the small- and medium-sized industries and then present the findings. Practical implications: The proposed framework might facilitate decision-makers, practitioners and academicians to comprehend the relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management factors and their influence on organizations' transition into a circular economy. The study's findings will help HR managers clarify the significant organizational learning and green human resource management factors that play a vital role in transitioning organizations into a circular economy. Originality/value: This research adds to our understanding of the intricate interactions between organizational learning and green human resource management as they relate to the circular economy. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the conceptual model illustrating the inter-relationship between organizational learning and green human resource management is the first of its type, and it is a novel notion because no previous research has looked into it. [For Part II, see EJ1354693.]

Background: Mass media significantly contributes to the dissemination of scientific information, including health information on prevention, diagnosis, treatment, national programs, and government schemes. Aims and objectives: To identify the number of news articles related to health in 4 regional newspapers and to classify the news items in terms of type of disease/ health issue covered. Methodology: Four leading newspapers were reviewed to identify the health-related news, their importance in terms of location in the newspaper, and the type of health issue covered. These were further classified based on the level of evidence used. Results: We extracted 720 health-related articles; 411 in English and 309 in Kannada dailies. The English newspaper had maximum coverage on environment 95 (23.1%) and health advisories 60 (14.5%). The Kannada papers on the other hand were dominated by health advisories 65 (21%), followed by nutrition and fitness 48 (15.3%), and environment 40 (12.9%). After the articles were categorized according to their evidence, it was discovered that 92% of them were evidence-based, with 84% of those articles based on Grade-II evidence. Conclusion: Health news in newspapers varies, often focusing on environment and health advisories, and relies heavily on expert opinion rather than empirical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the industrialized nation, almost every facet of our lives is permeated by technological innovation at an accelerated pace. This is especially true in the areas related to health and medicine, which has further led to the evolution of a health care system that is technologically related and capable of providing a wide range of effective therapeutic and diagnostic treatments. The application of the principles and problem-solving techniques of engineering, biology and medicine is Biomedical engineering. Biomedical engineering focuses on the advancements to improve human health at all possible levels. Biomedical engineering has emerged as a new area of research combining biology and medicine with technology, providing new designs and concepts of medical instrumentation for the diagnosis, cure and prevention of various diseases. Biomedical engineering in the last three decades has sustained growth in human resources along with the emergence of careers as graduates and postgraduates and apart from this research works, health care and technological development are some of its other aspects. The present paper will provide an insight into biomedical engineering and future scopes, specifically in India. Biomedical engineers use and apply knowledge of the modern biological principles in their designing process. A biomedical engineer can work in a wide variety of areas and disciplines. Apart from this, there are several opportunities in industries for innovations, designing and developing new techniques. In the last few years, biomedical engineering has emerged as a booming career as the area of work and research and the possibilities of innovations in this field are nearly endless. Thus, the future of biomedical engineering is tied to both the obstacles we face in the field of medical sciences and its advancements. Hence the use of the biomedical engineering method has become a necessity for human health, research and development.

Purpose: This paper aims to analyse the factors influencing migration, the labour migration process and the status of migrant laborers in the informal sector, particularly those working in brick kiln factories. It will shed light on the precarious nature of their work, often characterized by informal and verbal contracts. The paper examines occupational and environmental health hazards affecting the labourers and their impact on their well-being, the vulnerability of women in the precarious work environment and the associated health risks in brick kiln factories in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study relies primarily on primary data collection, supplemented by secondary literature and documents. Balangir district was chosen as the research region due to its historical deprivation, underdevelopment and the historical prevalence of environmental distress, leading to distress-driven migration. To gather primary data, 40 respondents were selected from five selected blocks in Balangir district, resulting in a total of 200 respondents. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with 35 individuals across the selected blocks, with approximately seven participants from each block. In addition, interviews of 10 kids were taken and around 10 key informants including the trade union leaders, intellectuals and civil society activists. Findings: Migrant labourers, including men, women and children, face significant health issues and are exposed to similar occupational health hazards. Internal migrant women workers are more vulnerable as they face critical health risks during pregnancy in host areas due to unfavourable working conditions and limited access to health-care services. Factors such as strenuous work, long working hours, poor nutrition and inadequate maternal care contribute to adverse outcomes such as spontaneous abortion, premature delivery and abnormal postnatal development. Research limitations/implications: The brick kiln industry presents a distressing reality for men who are highly vulnerable to occupational accidents, and women workers are exposed to sexual abuse, exploitation and violence. The prevalence of physical harassment, ranging from leering to rape, is alarmingly high among women. These incidents not only inflict physical harm but also cause severe psychological trauma and increase the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. Despite the existence of laws aimed at protecting women's rights and addressing sexual offences, the workers often remain unaware of their rights. This lack of awareness further compounds the vulnerability of women workers and perpetuates their exploitation in the workplace. Practical implications: To address health issues comprehensively, interventions should encompass the entire migrant population, including men and children. Strategies should focus on improving access to health-care services, promoting occupational health and safety measures, ensuring proper immunization and nutrition for children and addressing the broader social determinants of health. Empowering women with knowledge about reproductive health and rights, raising awareness about available health-care services and strengthening health-care providers' capacity to cater to migrant populations are crucial steps towards addressing health disparities. Social implications: Urgent interventions and policies are needed to address the health vulnerabilities of internal migrant workers and women workers. It is required to ensure health-care accessibility, improving working conditions, ensuring access to maternal care and essential supplements and providing health-care services for both pregnant women and their children, regardless of migration status. Originality/value: The study focused on precarious health and occupational hazards and accidents faced by migrant workers. It highlights women migrant labourer's and children's vulnerability in the Brick Klin sector, which is a value addition to the existing knowledge in social science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covid 19 brought to light the importance to personal and environmental hygiene and hence masks came into usage. Personal hygiene and community hygiene are an integral part of health and needs to be a priority for all. Throughout the Indian History and culture, we find importance given to the same. This paper tries to look into the historical understanding of hygiene and materials used for cleansing. Literature review and understanding of hygiene in the present day have been used to analysis and frame this paper. Through this paper the author shall conclude that no matter how much did the society change over a period of time in history, it still stressed upon the cleansing agent and cleanliness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identity formation has been a keen area of interest for researchers and it involves several physiological, cognitive, biological, emotional and hormonal changes often influenced by the adolescent's social environment. Adler conceptualized the notion that birth order of a person can leave an indelible impression on an individual's style of life. Birth order has a profound effect on how an adolescent is perceived by his family and how a person relates to the amount of responsibility, independence and freedom he or she has been given. Based on this ideology, this paper attempts to understand the influence of birth order on the identity formation of middle adolescents. The exploratory study undertakes a purposive sampling of 158 respondents (79 males and 79 females). Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) and Global Adjustment Inventory were the tools used for data collection. Correlation analysis indicated significant relationship between identity and various dimensions of adjustment. t-ratios were applied to study gender differences, though no significant results were found. Also, one-way ANOVA was applied to study between group differences. However, findings suggested no significant differences between the first and third born individuals for their identity formation process.

Knowledge about different health-related attitudes, beliefs, and risks is of significant interest to scholars in different Social Science disciplines. Usually knowledge is collected in a form of multiple variables and then constructed as a composite indicator. The question any researcher working with knowledge-related variables faces is: what is the best way to measure and summarise different dimensions of health-related knowledge? The main goal of this paper is to evaluate and compare simple score and latent class approaches to measuring and summarising health-related knowledge using population data on HIV knowledge collected in five selected countries (China, India, Kenya, Malawi, and Ukraine). The advantages and shortcomings of both approaches (simple score and latent class approaches) to measuring and summarising health-related knowledge are evaluated and discussed.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an Inclusive Digital Literacy Framework for vulnerable populations in rural areas under the Digital India program. Key challenges include addressing multiple literacies such as health literacy, financial literacy and eSafety for low-literate learners in low-resource settings with low internet bandwidth, lack of ICT facilities and intermittent electricity. Design/methodology/approach: This research implemented an educational model based on the proposed framework to train over 1,000 indigenous people using an integrated curriculum for digital literacies at remote settlements. The model uses mobile technology adapted for remote areas, context enabled curriculum, along with flexible learning schedules. Findings: The education model exemplifies a viable strategy to overcome persistent challenges by taking tablet-based digital literacies directly to communities. It engages different actors such as existing civil societies, schools and government organizations to provide digital literacy and awareness thereby improving both digital and life skills. It demonstrates the potential value of a comprehensive Digital Literacy framework as a powerful lever for Digital Inclusion. Practical Implications: Policy makers can use this transformational model to extend the reach and effectiveness of Digital Inclusion through the last mile enhancing existing training and service centers that offer the traditional model of Digital Literacy Education. Originality/value: This innovative mobile learning model based on the proposed Digital Framework for Inclusion instilled motivation, interest and confidence while providing effective digital training and conducting exams directly in the tribal settlements for low-literate learners in remote settings. Through incorporating multiple literacies, this model serves to empower learners, enhance potential, improve well-being and reduce the risk of exploitation.

To promote healthy aging and acknowledge the growing concern of population aging in India, it is essential to evaluate the health condition of elderly parents, especially considering the migration of their children. We systematically reviewed the literature using a multi-stage search and review method that followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. At first, 691 studies were identified, but only 36 papers that satisfied the selection criteria were included in this review. The review examines the current body of literature on the health of elderly parents and the influence of children's migration on their well-being in India. It indicates that a growing proportion of the elderly are encountering a range of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including mental health. Regardless of varying demographic and socioeconomic conditions, children's migration is identified as a crucial social determinant affecting health. This review consolidates a range of studies examining the health of elderly parents, enhancing both theoretical and empirical comprehension of the effects of adult children moving away on the health and overall welfare of the elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The level of mother's health knowledge influences not only her health, but also significantly predicts her children's health and medical care, and spending on medical care. This relationship has not yet been empirically assessed in India. The purpose of this paper is to measure the level of health knowledge of mothers in India and its association with the short-term illness in their children, medical care and medical care expenditure. Design/Methodology/ Approach: The authors used data from India Human Development Survey, 2004-2005. An index of "health knowledge" was constructed by using factor analysis. Multivariate binary logistic regression, multinomial logistic regression and multiple classification analysis were employed to analyze the relationship between mother's health knowledge and child illness. Pearson's ?2 test and ANOVA test were used to estimate levels of statistical significance in bivariate analyses. Findings: The results revealed that children of mothers with medium and high-health knowledge were significantly less likely to have short-term illness (OR = 0.390, p <0.01 and OR = 0.543, p <0.01) than those children whose mothers had no or low-health knowledge (OR = 1.00, p <0.01) cutting across all background characteristics. Similarly, the attainment of modern medical care for short-term illness of children was nearly two times greater (OR = 1.97, p <0.05) in mothers with higher health knowledge as compared to mothers with no or low-health knowledge (OR = 1.00, p <0.01). The results also showed that mothers with higher health knowledge spent more on medical care for their children's short-term illness than mothers with no and low-health knowledge. Practical Implications: The findings suggested a significant effect of mother's health knowledge on the prevalence of short-term illness among their children, medical care and expenditure on the medical care. Appropriate health knowledge for women is crucial to the wellbeing of their children. Besides, social equity in terms of the distribution of facilities, to gain health knowledge and medical care, are essential to be established in India. Originality/Value: To the knowledge, this study is the first attempt to measure the health knowledge of women in reproductive age and its association with the prevalence of short-term illness, medical care and medical expenditure of their children in India. In general, a health knowledge index could be a significant composite predictor of the health in a population.

This introduction to a special section brings together three papers first presented at a panel, 'Medical Professions in South Asia: Historical and Contemporary Analyses', at the 26th European Conference on South Asian Studies, held in Vienna, Austria and online, in July 2021. All three papers deal with aspects of the professionalisation of biomedical doctors in India since its independence in 1947. The authors bring together historical and sociological approaches to illuminate the growth of specialisms, patterns of practitioner–patient interactions and efforts to maintain occupational closure and maintain status in the face of growing challenges. The introduction concludes with a discussion of the relevance of these papers for the sociology of health and illness in India and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction industry's male-dominated image, working ethos, and environment have led to an abysmal representation of women professionals in the workforce. The industry, the second largest employer in India, contributing 9% to India’s GDP has a mere 2% representation of women professionals (architects, site engineers, quantity surveyors, planning engineers, safety professionals, etc.) in employment. Manpower shortage continues to challenge the industry and poses an opportunity for women and employers alike. In this context, the paper aims to identify and evaluate the barriers and approaches to improve the wellbeing, safety, and health of women professionals at project sites thus increasing their share in employment. A mixed approach of questionnaire survey, interviews, and focused discussion was adopted. The top three barriers identified were – Long working hours and a culture that working long demonstrate work commitment, Remote and changing work locations of project sites impacting family life, and Inflexible work hours; while the top three approaches were – Providing appropriate sanitary facilities, Separate and clean restrooms and Evaluating performance based on output rather than hours put in. Results suggest that men and women shared a common perception of all barriers and approaches except for three. The findings will aid in advocating for women's wellbeing, safety and health at construction sites and spread the word about the value of gender mainstreaming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of social isolation due to COVID-19 on the vulnerable geriatric population. Design/methodology/approach: Ten individual interviews of people above 70 years of age were conducted in 2021. The data was collected through interviews and observation. The authors observed the people from the age. Findings: The geriatric population faced physical challenges like poor sleep and digestive health along with neglect of their persisting ailments, which needed attention. Mental issues were also very serious, such as fear of death, anxiety, stress and depression. This paper urges the policymakers to focus on coming up with support systems for the geriatric population and finding long-term solutions to mitigate the repercussions faced by them. Originality/value: This paper attempts to underline the mostly unnoticed physical and psychological issues troubling usually neglected strata of the population as they do not make a part of an income-earning segment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic characterizes a serious health crisis on the earth planet. It can possibly make destroying impacts connected with society and economy. There are internal migrants which are important part of India's economy which is around 20% of the labor force. There are 100 million inward migrants in India. Around 40 million of people from various states in India. This paper looks into the presence of migrant workers in the urban communities across India that have been intensely impacted by the step of lockdowntaken by the government of India. This paper finds the regional scenario of mass flight of migrant workers from the important Indian urban centers to their rural homes. This study sums up with the significance of internal migrants particular those who are workers whose contributions in different cities' economies and after the lockdown, need to provide essential help in term of social security and also to develop the data resource in the destination sources in order to link the government schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does a legal change in women's inheritance rights have long-term effects on child health outcomes? This paper examines the effect of an improvement in women's inheritance rights on child nutritional health outcomes in India using a difference-in-differences estimation approach. We use the staggered implementation of the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005 to investigate the impact of the reform on anthropometric indictors of child health: being underweight, stunted, and wasted. The findings of this study reveal that an improvement in women's inheritance rights has a positive impact on children's health and reduces the probability of nutritional deficiency in the child. We identify mechanisms such as increased educational levels, better marital outcomes, and improved intrahousehold bargaining power of women as potential pathways through which inheritance rights affect child nutritional health outcomes. The results of the paper lend credence to growing evidence that legal recognition of women's inheritance rights can have sustained and second-generation effects, in spite of poor enforcement mechanisms and persistence of deep-rooted societal bias against women holding property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most speedy and substantial social shifts in human history has been the evolution of gender relations since the turn of the 20th century. Even though female health, literacy and women participation in workforce have significantly improved, the status of women in Indian society is not very satisfactory leading to gender disparities. It is in this background that this paper attempts to analyse the role of education, labour market and health in reducing gender disparities across the states over the period of time. To analyse the impact of these variables, Gender Disparity Index (GDI) has been constructed utilising the data from Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and Sample Registration System (SRS) to measure gender disparities in 20 major states and union territories (UTs) of India. For the construction of GDI, we have used three dimensions, namely health, empowerment and labour market participation. The index is prepared to make a decadal comparative study for the years 2011–12 and 2020–21. The statistical results indicate that there is a significant difference in mean of the GDI scores for 2020–21 and 2011–12. The paper concludes with certain policy implications suggesting that there is a need to put more effort into creating infrastructure and cutting-edge policies to improve the health and education systems. The focus should also be to create more employment opportunities for females, helping them to raise their standard of living so as to enhance their contribution towards economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the climate change discourse, a body of scholarship focusing on how people perceive climate change and its impact is increasing. However, in the Indian context, such scholarship is limited. Objective: This paper aims to describe the perceptions of people on climate change and its health impacts, which were captured as part of a larger study. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted in randomly selected 983 households in four districts spread across Madhya Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: For 72% of respondents, the perception was not related to climate change per se. Their perceptions were contextual and were based on the anomalies which are observed in the immediate weather conditions. The health impacts of climate change were also not understood at the first place, but with probing 64% of respondents were able to report seasonal diseases. Conclusion: Perceptions of the people regarding climate change are more linked to their own experiences with their local weather conditions rather than the overall concept. This also explains their lack of comprehension about the health impact of climate change, but a sound understanding of seasonal diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Routine childhood vaccinations are among the most cost-effective child health interventions. In recent years, the broader benefits of vaccines, which include improved cognitive and schooling outcomes, have also been established. This paper evaluates the long-term economic benefits of India's national program of childhood vaccinations, known as the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). We combine individual-level data from the 68th round of the National Sample Survey of India (2011–12) with district-wise data on the rollout of UIP from 1985 to 1990. We employ age-district fixed-effects regression models to compare the earnings and per capita household consumer spending of 21- to 26-year-old adults who were born in UIP-covered districts vis-à-vis non-UIP districts between 1985 and 1990. We find that exposure to UIP in infancy increases weekly wages by 13.8 percent (95 percent CI: 7.6–20.3 percent, p < 0.01) and monthly per capita household consumption expenditure by 2.9 percent (95 percent CI: 0.7–5.0 percent, p < 0.01). Program exposure also reduces the probability that an individual's household relies on agriculture as the main source of income by 1.9 percent (95 percent CI: 0.0–3.5 percent, p < 0.01). The findings are robust to several specifications including varying study duration and accounting for potential migration. The effects vary by sex, location, and caste group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a short paper analyzing the potential effects of a targeted school-building program on health indicators. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) program in India intended to build residential schools for girls from historically disadvantaged sections of the society, providing a unique multifaceted policy setting with tenets of gender equality, affirmative action, and infrastructure reform in education. Exploiting the potentially exogenous cross-sectional variations generated by the institutional features of implementation of this intervention, I run triple-difference regressions to find that the program led to increases in body mass index (BMI) among the underweight. There seems to be a positive correlation between KGBV exposure and probability of being in the "healthy" band of BMI indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a short paper analyzing the potential effects of a targeted school-building program on health indicators. The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) program in India intended to build residential schools for girls from historically disadvantaged sections of the society, providing a unique multifaceted policy setting with tenets of gender equality, affirmative action, and infrastructure reform in education. Exploiting the potentially exogenous cross-sectional variations generated by the institutional features of implementation of this intervention, I run triple-difference regressions to find that the program led to increases in body mass index (BMI) among the underweight. There seems to be a positive correlation between KGBV exposure and probability of being in the "healthy" band of BMI indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entertainment-education has been touted as a potent delivery channel for health education campaigns. Yet, there is little evidence of its causal effects. This paper aims to fill the gap in the literature by using a field experiment in India to study two questions on the efficacy of health entertainment-education. First, can health entertainment-education, particularly through films that show role models and draw on emotions, lead to lasting, positive change in health knowledge and behavior? Second, can financial incentives for ex-post health literacy boost the effectiveness of health entertainment-education? The results show that health entertainment-education successfully increased health knowledge (e.g. knowledge about cleanliness and hygiene) by 16 percent. These gains persist almost one year later, although there were no observed impacts on health behaviors. Further, financial incentives do not appear to have any effects. These insights contribute to our knowledge of what works for health education in low-income settings, so that future education campaigns can be crafted with more meaningful impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data from India, this paper investigates the effect of early maternal age on offspring human capital, contributing to the scarce evidence on this phenomenon, especially in the context of a developing country. The analysis relies on mother fixed effects to allow for unobserved differences between mothers and employs a variety of empirical strategies to address remaining sibling-specific concerns. Our results indicate that children born to young mothers are shorter for their age, with stronger effects for girls born to very young mothers. We also find some evidence suggesting that children born to very young mothers perform worse in math. By exploring the evolution of effects over time for the first time in the literature, we find that the height effect weakens as children age. Further analysis suggests both biological and behavioral factors as transmission channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years there has been significant coverage of mental health in Indian newspapers; the media can play a significant role in perpetuating as well as reducing stigma towards people with mental illness. This paper analyses the content, context and type of newspaper coverage of various mental health disorders in English language newspapers in India between 2016 and 2021. Methods: A detailed analysis was performed on a sample of articles about mental illness in a range of English language Indian newspapers. Results: Depression was the most prevalent topic amongst the articles followed by anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Our study describes a wide range of use of mental health disorders in various newspapers. All diagnoses were generally described in a criminal context like homicide, sexual assault and other crimes. Over time newspaper coverage of mental illness has become less stigmatising. Further exploration of non-English medium newspapers is required to fully understand the extent of the role of print media in perpetuating unhelpful stereotypes of people with mental illness in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Assam as a north-eastern state of India has a very distinct and unique cuisine, which is largely unexplored due to its differences with the cuisines prevalent in the other parts of India. Assam being surrounded by hills on one side and Brahmaputra river on the other has its cuisine influenced by the fertile river banks, the various tribes and the hilly terrains. The regional cuisine of Assam is very seasonal and produce orientated. The focus on health benefits of food is a very important aspect while planning an Assamese meal. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to find out how the local people residing in Assam use the indigenous produce for health benefits and find out how important is the health aspect of food for them. Research Design & Approach: The research is done based on primary data as a questionnaire circulated amongst local people and secondary data has been collected from various books articles and websites. Findings: The study findings indicate that indigenous ingredients used for health benefits play a vital role in deciding the food preferences of the local people. Practical Application: This research will enlighten everyone and increase awareness about certain ingredients which are not well known to us. Originality/Contribution: This research paper is an original work, done to find out the benefits of natural ingredients used in Assam which can help people at large to focus on health aspect of food which will help boost immunity and physical health as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Adolescent diet, physical activity and nutritional status are generally known to be sub-optimal. This is an introduction to a special issue of papers devoted to exploring factors affecting diet and physical activity in adolescents, including food insecure and vulnerable groups. Setting: Eight settings including urban, peri-urban and rural across sites from five different low- and middle-income countries. Design: Focus groups with adolescents and caregivers carried out by trained researchers. Results: Our results show that adolescents, even in poor settings, know about healthy diet and lifestyles. They want to have energy, feel happy, look good and live longer, but their desire for autonomy, a need to 'belong' in their peer group, plus vulnerability to marketing exploiting their aspirations, leads them to make unhealthy choices. They describe significant gender, culture and context-specific barriers. For example, urban adolescents had easy access to energy dense, unhealthy foods bought outside the home, whereas junk foods were only beginning to permeate rural sites. Among adolescents in Indian sites, pressure to excel in exams meant that academic studies were squeezing out physical activity time. Conclusions: Interventions to improve adolescents' diets and physical activity levels must therefore address structural and environmental issues and influences in their homes and schools, since it is clear that their food and activity choices are the product of an interacting complex of factors. In the next phase of work, the Transforming Adolescent Lives through Nutrition consortium will employ groups of adolescents, caregivers and local stakeholders in each site to develop interventions to improve adolescent nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The recent COVID-19 pandemic like situation has killed a large numbers of people and caused havoc across the world. With the aim of providing the COVID-19 related updated information about facilities, availability, utilization of COVID-19 related resources like vaccines, hospitals, beds, oxygen to the people and preventing its surge, many websites were developed for health guidance to the general masses. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to investigate the accessibility and usability of websites providing COVID-19 information in India. METHODS: This study evaluates the 38 websites providing COVID-19 information in India using automated tools. RESULTS: It was found that digital healthcare information is far from accessibility conformance and none of the websites conformed to web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 completely. The website adhered to understandability with average errors of 2.8 while less compliant to perceivability with average errors of 30.5. It was also found that most of the websites were mobile friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dropout rate is one of the determinants of immunization coverage and program performance, program continuity, and follow-up. The dropout rate refers to the proportion of vaccine recipients who did not finish their vaccination schedules, and it is determined by comparing the number of infants who started the schedule to the number who completed it. It is the rate difference between the first and final dosage or the rate difference between the first vaccination and the last vaccine dropout; thus, it denotes that the first recommended dose of vaccine was received, but that the subsequently recommended dose was missed. In India, immunization coverage has shown significant improvements over the last two decades, but full immunization coverage has remained stagnant at 76.5%, of which 19.9% are partially immunized, and 3.6% are children who have been left out. In India, the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is challenged with cases related to dropout in immunization. Although immunization coverage in India is improving, the program is challenged by vaccination dropouts. This study provides an analysis of the determinants of vaccination dropout in India using data from two rounds of the National Family Health Survey. The finding shows that the mother's age, education, family wealth, antenatal care visit, and place of delivery were some of the variables that significantly contributed to reducing the dropout rate of immunization among children. The findings of this paper show that the dropout rate has reduced over a certain period of time. The overall improvement in the rates of dropout and increase in full immunization coverage could be attributed to various policy measures taken in the last decade in India, which brought structural changes with a positive impact on full immunization coverage and its components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global rise of populism and concomitant polarizations across disenfranchised and marginalized groups has been magnified by so-called echo chambers, and a major public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic has only served to fuel these intergroup tensions. Media institutions disseminating information on ways to prevent the propagation of the virus have reactivated a specific discursive phenomenon previously observed in many epidemics: the construction of a defiled 'Other'. With anthropological lenses, discourse on defilement is an interesting path to understand the continuous emergence of pseudo-scientific forms of racism. In this paper, the authors focus on 'borderline racism', that is the use of an institutionally 'impartial' discourse to reaffirm the inferiority of another race. The authors employed inductive thematic analysis of 1200 social media comments reacting to articles and videos published by six media in three different countries (France, United States and India). Results delineate four major themes structuring defilement discourses: food (and the relationship to animals), religion, nationalism and gender. Media articles and videos portrayed Western and Eastern countries through contrasting images and elicited a range of reaction in readers and viewers. The discussion reflects on how borderline racism can be an appropriate concept to understand the appearance of hygienic othering of specific subgroups on social media. Theoretical implications and recommendations on a more culturally sensitive approach of media coverage of epidemics and pandemics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal healthcare service utilization is a pivotal indicator of a nation's progress in safeguarding the health and well-being of its women and children. In this context, women's empowerment emerges as a critical determinant influencing the utilization of maternal healthcare services. The study aims to assess the relationship between women's level of empowerment and utilization of maternal healthcare services among currently married women in India. Data and Methods: The study uses data from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey conducted in 2019–2021 and analyzed 26,552 (15–49 aged) currently married women who had a live birth in the last 5 years preceding the survey. Additionally, univariate and bivariate analyses, multivariate logistic regression, and the SWPER index were used for the analysis. Results: Over the years, utilization of antenatal care, skilled birth attainment, and postnatal care has increased extensively in India. However, the study found that utilization of services was higher among empowered women, and it varies across the state with the extent of empowerment. State-level analysis shows that the extent of women empowerment was higher in Goa, followed by Tamil Nadu and Kerala, and lower in Jharkhand, followed by Tripura, so as the utilization of maternal and health care services. The extent of empowerment and utilization of services also varies by level of educational attainment, employment, and socio-economic status. Conclusion: There is a need for comprehensive strategies to enhance women's empowerment through education, employment, political participation, self-awareness, and reduction in gender-based violence and child marriages, which may improve awareness demand for better public health structure, and may ensure higher utilization of maternal healthcare services. Ultimately, these strategies may converse the higher maternal death and child mortality. Significance: What is already known about this subject? Existing literature in India mostly highlights a clear connection between women's autonomy and maternal healthcare services utilization. Women with higher autonomy, decision-making power, and mobility are more likely to use these services. However, in exploring the link between women's empowerment and maternal healthcare, some studies focus on education, employment, and media access among Indian mothers, sidelining broader empowerment dimensions. What this study adds? This study is likely the first to investigate the relationship between women's empowerment and the level of maternal healthcare service utilization in India. It covers key dimensions of women's empowerment, including Attitude to Violence, Social Independence, and Decision-making Power. Moreover, it is possibly the first Indian research paper to employ a survey-based women's empowerment index in this context. Notably, the assessment highlights Social Independence as a significant dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can ethnographic methods track implicit & explicit forms of structural casteism in Indian public health policy and praxis? How can a critical attention to ordinary stories and subjectivities of casted lives reveal the underlying Brahmanical moralities, assumptions and imaginations of public health but equally also unravel anti-caste counter-framings/counter-theorizations of symptoms, afflictions, injuries and chronic wounds wrought by caste? How, in other words, can the horizons of anti-colonial theory-making be expanded to capaciously conceptualize casteism as a core determinant of community health outcomes and life-chances in India? By mobilizing 'counter-storytelling' as a concept and method for critical medical anthropology from the Global South, and case studies from longitudinal ethnography in northern India, this paper provides a dual critique of: 1. Public health praxis in relation to questions of caste, addiction, respiratory debilitation, air pollution and TB. And, 2. Epistemologies of health policy making pertaining to wellness for 'the poor' and the gendered and casted labour of community care workers like ASHAs and non-institutionalized health actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on art productions by children participating in an art-based wellbeing intervention project in Kashmir. Drawing on feminist security studies, we conducted narrative analysis to explore how children represent in/security. The locations of in/security were the environment, the body, and the socio-political realm. Children articulated nuanced and complex representations of the natural and social world, influenced by local and global forces, and created their own meanings and practices of in/security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age structure of a country is inextricably mixed with the economic growth through demographic dividend. In this paper, the extent of demographic dividend is arrived at by distinguishing support ratios from 2004-2050.1 While encomiums are galore about the benefits and blessings of demographic dividend, its sustainability is at stake as little health and employment dividends are forthcoming out of it. The paper empirically proves that the health scenario of the country is in serious jeopardy. On unemployment, it invariably finds that there is an absolute decline in employment since 2011-12 which doesn't bode well for India.2 These corroborate the fact that realisation of dividend is illusory. The paper, therefore, pitches for spectacular spike in the allocation for health and education sectors and their prudent spending sans much ado so that population dividend can make its edifice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While considerable existing literature has focused on the lack of sanitation services in informal settlements, this paper argues for the need for well-maintained sanitation services in city public spaces. Specifically, the paper describes the impact of a lack of sanitation facilities in public spaces and its linkages to waste picker women’s sense of safety and security. Drawing on the experiences of waste picker women residing in an informal settlement in Pune, it focuses on women’s everyday improvisations and negotiations to cope with the unavailability or inaccessibility of sanitation facilities while they traverse the city, picking and segregating waste, and the impact on their income, health and psychological well-being. The findings show that the policy discourse on sanitation needs to be expanded beyond a focus on informal settlements to include a public sanitation component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy, enshrined in Part III & IV of the Indian Constitution reflect that India is a welfare state. These rights ensure that the government safeguards the economic and social well-being of its citizens. Keeping in mind the responsibility of the state in ensuring these rights, the G.O.I. has been launching different welfare programmes from time to time under four major welfare categories, namely, wage employment, education, health and food security and nutrition as per the demand of the hour. However, the success of the schemes can be achieved only with proper governance. Nevertheless, indicators of governance do not pretense healthy trends. Given the highly uneven performance demonstrated by the states in terms of improvement with regard to the above-mentioned social dimensions, four case studies have been showcased in this paper from West Bengal, a state falling in the category of Medium Social Progress State during the year of 2021-22. The paper attempts to capture the quality of governance of social welfare programmes pre pandemic and during the pandemic when the importance of such social welfare schemes had been accentuated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the emergency contraceptive pill (ECP) became available in India, it has received significant attention from several social, religious, and political groups and institutions. The increasing use of the ECP as a hormonal birth control method by women has not only bothered medical institutions due to its short-term and possible long-term side-effects, but some social and religious groups have also demanded an outright ban on its sale. This paper is based first on the limited public discussion on the ECP, which has focused on morality; and second, on my semi-structured interviews with women that illustrate the gendered contexts within which they have exercised choice regarding its use. Feminist scholarship on heterosexuality demonstrates that the social context of gendered power relations affects contraceptive choices and negotiations between partners. Using this as a framework, this article there by highlights young women's negotiation regarding their sexual desires and safe sex within spaces of intimacy and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The purpose of this study is to highlight the ethical, health, and technical concerns around manual scavenging in urban India. Subject and methods: As a country, India is passing through a transitional phase of urban development, with concepts of Smart Cities and Resilient Cities taking center stage on the urban development discourse. But the country is lagging in managing crucial indicators of social and human progress within a city, especially on issues of proper sewage and sanitation facilities. In view of this light, the horrendous practice of manual scavenging has been declared an illegal profession by Indian laws; however, the profession is still rampant, even in urban areas such as Delhi and Bengaluru. Thus, this paper discusses the ethical and health implications of this practice and simultaneously reviews the technologies being implemented in several countries. Additionally, an analysis is carried out on grave issues; for instance, the number of workers engaged in such practices and their death cases in recent years. Lastly, this study presents new thinking and approaches of technological advancement that could bring an end to this rather unethical practice. Results: The review paper shows that, although the field of manual scavenging has been highly mechanized in many countries, India is yet to find a permanent solution that separates human beings from manually cleaning sewers. Conclusion: This paper brings forth a combination of measures that are legislative and technical in nature, including societal awareness, to eradicate manual scavenging in Indian cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women are playing diverse roles in the family and in the work place. Women experience stress and many health impacts in both sides from psychological tension and physical harassment at workplaces, apart from the common job stress. Information Technology (IT) companies is one of the significant employee generating industry in the worldwide condition where the people are participating. In these companies women advanced into the corporate workforce, however without need of full improvement of their abilities and ascend for authority positions because of stress. Globalization of economy have constrained our IT workforce to concern more in winning the ability individual and India’s informed IT proficient women are a noteworthy resource that should never again be underestimated and under-used. This paper depends on discoveries from research studies on Indian Information Technology Industry. It gives a diagram of the difficulties and stress observed by women who are working in IT companies associations. Here discussion is about what changes are required to manage stress among women and what is being done to get the prescribed procedures for Information Technology industry in India. The present paper features the adapting systems that can be chosen to additionally precede corporate journey to gender inclusion and the development of women in the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the midst of the climate crisis, both in terms of ecological and social issues, creatives must seek innovative ways to trigger and support active change. Interrogating our ways of working has become essential: How can we support the whole ecosystem? How can we deeply engage people? How can we be more accountable for our actions? Responding to these concerns, this paper reflects on the benefits of applying ecoscenography in 'Glimpsing Air Pockets' creative process. It results in an immersive, multi-sensory dance theatre production which aim is collective wellbeing through active engagement and Nature connection. Original to Native American culture and recently recognized by New Zealand and India governments, I refer in my writing to terms such as Nature or Earth with a capital letter, granting them their personhood status with equal rights to human beings. Written as a deep artistic reflection, this paper demonstrates the importance of linking the Arts and Nature connection to create positive social and environmental change for a more connected and resilient future of our society and the planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's health and nutrition are of the utmost importance in India, where numerous nutritional programs and policies focus on them. Globally, women are the primary caretakers of their families, and rural women play a crucial role in sustaining their households by ensuring food and nutrition security, generating income, and improving rural livelihoods and overall well-being. The contribution of women to their societies from pre-natal to postnatal life regarding the growth and nutrition of their children is indisputable. It is crucial to protect women's health and nutritional status to ensure their own well-being, that of their children, their families, and future generations. This literature review offers a comprehensive appraisal of existing research on chronic energy deficiency (CED) among Indian women. The present review comprises 70 publications on the prevalence of undernutrition and body mass index (BMI). The mean weight, height, and BMI of the reviewed studies ranged from a minimum of 39.25 (kg), 147.28 (cm), and 16.2 (kg/m²) to a maximum of 64.0 (kg), 161.0 (cm), and 25.0 (kg/m²), respectively. Similarly, the prevalence of CED ranged from 4.2% (least) to 98% (highest). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our paper examines the key determinants of COVID-19 vaccination coverage in India and presents an analytical framework to probe whether vaccine hesitancy, socioeconomic factors and multi-dimensional deprivations (MPI) play a role in determining COVID-19 vaccination uptake. Our exploratory analysis reveals that COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has a negative and statistically significant impact on COVID-19 vaccination coverage. A percentage increase in vaccine hesitancy can lead to a decline in vaccination coverage by 30 percent. Similarly, an increase in the proportion of people living in multi-dimensional poverty reduces the COVID-19 vaccination coverage. A unit increase in MPI or proportion of people living in acute poverty leads to a mean decline in vaccination coverage by 50 percent. It implies that an increase in socioeconomic deprivation negatively impacts health outcomes, including vaccination coverage. We additionally demonstrated that gender plays a significant role in determining how access to digital technologies such as the internet impacts vaccine coverage and hesitancy. We found that, as males' access to the internet increases, vaccination coverage also increases. This may be attributed to India's reliance on digital tools (COWIN, AAROGYA SETU, Imphal, India) to allocate and register for COVID-19 vaccines and the associated digital divide (males have greater digital excess than females). Conversely, females' access to the internet is statistically significant and inversely associated with coverage. This can be attributed to higher vaccine hesitancy among the female population and lower utilization of health services by females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Providing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to a coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) patient is challenging for the healthcare providers (HCP). COVID-19 cases have specific CPR requirements, which differ from standard resuscitation efforts. Objective: This paper aims to evaluate whether online learning can be an effective methodology for imparting information on the management of cardiopulmonary arrest in COVID-19 patients due to a novel virus unknown to HCP based on evaluation of knowledge acquisition and satisfaction of the nurses in the new area of medicine and virology. Methodology: In a single-arm, one group before and after design, from a cohort of 160 nurses trained in comprehensive cardiac life support (CCLS) formulated by the Indian Resuscitation Council (IRC), 73 nurses participated in the study. After obtaining informed consent through the email from the nurses, baseline data including demographic profile and knowledge related to CPR in COVID-19 patients were collected. An online intervention spread over 1 week was given using a validated e-learning module. The online intervention was found to be effective (pre- and post-intervention knowledge score 13.65 ± 3.01 vs 19.92 ± 1.94, p = 0.001). The majority of nurses were highly satisfied with the content and the training methodology (37.23 ± 4.70). Conclusion: A well-structured, online study material can be used in imparting knowledge and demonstrating the basic and essential skills to nurses, required for giving CPR to COVID-19 patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noise is an underestimated threat that can cause several short- and long-term health problems. It is increasingly becoming a potential hazard to health, physically and psychologically, and affects the general well-being of an individual. The objective of the current study was to examine noise levels at ten different locations in the city of Bhubaneswar, Odisha State, India based on the land use pattern in urban and rural setup. The paper focuses on deploying geospatial techniques using ArcGIS desktop to perform better sampling and further interpolate the statistical data using the Kriging technique to generate a surface representing the distribution of noise levels in various areas. In addition, a health impact survey enabled us to understand the perspectives of the people in and around the monitoring location where health issues like stress, headache, hypertension, and sleeping disorders emerged as some of the most common issues faced. Noise levels were in the range of 43.0 to 74.5 (A) Leq. in rural areas and 61 to 96.5 dB (A) Leq in urban areas. In the current study, noise levels in rural and urban areas exceeded the recommended noise limits as per The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Print media is the oldest media for news and information. It includes newspapers, magazines, journals and other printed material etc. The print media is responsible for reporting the latest and accurate news and information. The common people find the plethora of thoughts from the newspapers so that they can formulate their own opinions, ideas and judgment about the issues. Health related stories are an important part of the information published in the newspapers. In this research paper the researcher has undertaken content analysis of four national dailies published from Jaipur city over a period of three years (2019, 2020 & 2021) on their coverage of 'World Blood Donor Day'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]