Health

About eight and half years ago, Roshni* noticed that her toddler, Karan*, had started to fall back on his milestones. A visit to the paediatrician led to Karan being diagnosed with mild autism. “From then on, it’s been a long journey,” says Roshni. The dedicated parents have taken Karan to numerous intervention centres and therapists, but keeping this going financially was proving to be a burden. That is when someone referred Roshni to The Association of People with Disability (APD), an NGO that has been working for underprivileged people with disability since 1959. Roshni approached APD in March this year,…

On a hot May afternoon, Devika Singh, a Delhi-based marketing professional left her office to meet a client. Suddenly, after 20 minutes, she felt uneasy while walking to her car in a nearby parking lot.  She fainted before she could grab a bottle of water. She regained consciousness after someone sprinkled water on her face and head. She was offered a glass of sugarcane juice by a juice shop owner. Finally, she called a colleague, who picked her up and took her to the nearby hospital, where the doctor told her that she became unconscious because of the scorching heat. The…

“I want to dance with my daughter, take Marble (pet dog) for a walk, go on a second honeymoon with my husband, travel alone and just go out and buy something for myself.” These are the wishes of Swarnalatha, a young woman who has been struggling with a rare disease called Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis for the past 14 years in India. Swarnalatha has been bound to a wheelchair for all these years. While there is no cure for the disease, her dream to do something as simple as dancing with her daughter keeps her going. When Swarnalatha was diagnosed…

Bengaluru has attracted people from all walks of life. In addition to long term inhabitants, it is a city for students, factory workers, small vendors, and sees a lot of migrant population. The Bangalore Urban district mostly comprises the Bangalore metropolitan area. In 2011, this district was 90% urban, and it may be assumed to be almost entirely urban in nature.  Understanding the healthcare needs of migrant workers Migration is a complex process with far reaching effects on individuals, societies, and health systems. The urban migrant population often experiences significant barriers to accessing health services, including limited availability of services,…

Many students from across the country move to Chennai to pursue their higher education as it is a sought-after destination. But data show that Tamil Nadu has the third-highest number of student suicides in India. This makes a focus on the mental health of students in higher educational institutions of Chennai and elsewhere paramount. What are some of the common triggers that impact the mental health of the students? Are there systems to address the mental health issues of the students in Chennai? How efficient are they? To address these broad questions in detail, Citizen Matters organised a panel discussion…

The Rajasthan Right to Health Care Act (the RRTH Act) passed by the legislative assembly of the state of Rajasthan on March 21st this year, draws our attention to the quintessential issue of patients’ rights in healthcare. In the doctor-centric health care system in India, patient rights seldom feature in public debate, are rarely considered integral to realising our citizenship, and are not legally defined. Yet, patient rights form a very significant component of  citizens’ fundamental right to health care.  The Right to Health Care Act is framed with the objective of ensuring health for all, and also conversely, that…

Health was in much focus for the last three years due to COVID-19. The governments seemed to take some initiatives towards providing some care for the people during the pandemic. But if there was some hope that the political class would give healthcare enough attention, then this has been belied with the political class going back to business as usual. COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, given the extent of environmental destruction and increase in human-animal conflict. But, sadly, we, as a society, have not learnt our lessons from COVID-19 and have not invested in the health of the…

Arpita, from Rourkela Odisha, noticed something amiss about her son when he was about 18 months old. Doctors in her city could not provide her the right guidance. The more she read about her son’s symptoms, the more convinced she was about the need for a formal assessment. She travelled to The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru, for an assessment, following which she even relocated from her bank job to the city. After three years of taking early intervention services and parental training from a private organisation in the city, Arpita feels more equipped to manage…

"I know my identity is much more than bipolar disorder. It is just one part of my life”. Those are the words of US-based scientist Dr Yamini (name changed), who has continues to live her life with conviction, while living with Bipolar. On the occasion of World Bipolar Day (March 30), Citizen Matters interviewed Dr Yamini on how she has coped with life and her illness. And how others can learn to cope with similar conditions. Dr Yamini graduated in Engineering from one of India’s top Indian Engineering institutes, and moved to the US where she completed her PhD. She has…

A living will is a written document in which a person expresses their wishes regarding medical treatment in the event they become terminally ill or incapable of making decisions themselves. In a living will, an individual designates a proxy to make decisions on their behalf and instructs proxy as well as others about what he or she wants. The concept of a living will is based on the principle that every person has the right to determine the type of medical treatment they receive or discontinue when their condition requires it. Many others share the same view but the mere…