Search

Research demonstrates that young people value mental health support that is tailored to their needs and preferences, rather than a "one size fits all" offer, which is often not equitably accessible (National Children's Bureau, 2021). Understanding young people's lived experiences across different sociocultural contexts is important. The aim of this research was to conduct an international qualitative study on the views of young people with lived experience and professionals, on proposed aspects of personalised support for anxiety and/or depression. Participatory action focus groups were conducted with N = 120 young people with lived experience of anxiety and/or depression (14-24 years) and with N = 63 professionals in Brazil, India, Kenya, Pakistan, Portugal, South Africa, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Data were analysed using the rigorous and accelerated data reduction (RADaR) technique. Overall, although some country-specific differences were found in terms of what aspects of support young people found to be most important, individual preferences were considered stronger, furthering the view that support should be personalised to the needs of the individual young person. Young people experiencing anxiety and/or depression should be able to choose for themselves which aspects of support they would prefer in their own care and support plans, with families and mental health professionals providing guidance where appropriate, rather than removing the young person from the decision-making process altogether. It should also be ensured that the aspects of personalised support can be understood by young people and professionals from different contexts, including marginalised and minoritised groups and communities.

Introduction: Children and young people in India have a high prevalence of dental decay. As part of a broader epidemiological study, we interviewed 10 head teachers to understand the status of, and challenges to, inclusion of oral health education in the curricula of public and private schools in Tamil Nadu, India. Objectives: The two main objectives of this study were (1) to describe the views of head teachers about the implementation of oral health education in school curricula and (2) to identify challenges to achieving oral health education in public and private schools in Tamil Nadu. Method: Qualitative descriptive design, with a purposive sample of 10 head teachers who participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic coding was used to analyse and report on the data. Results: There is a lack of oral health education in public and private schools in Tamil Nadu, India. Four main types of barriers to the initiation and implementation of oral health education were lack of recognition, academic burden, prioritisation of other health needs and policy inequities. Head teachers acknowledged the lack of oral health education in their schools, yet also acknowledged the importance of oral health education in promoting students' health. Conclusion: Health curricula in Tamil Nadu schools lack integration of oral health education. Limited access to the services, cultural factors, policy deficiencies, insufficient awareness among policy-makers, the nature of the education system and lack of research contribute to the current situation. Policy-makers should address these barriers to enable and promote oral health education strategies in both private and public schools of Tamil Nadu.

The idea of school health is re-imagined with an emphasis on the need for children's health programmes to be rooted in an understanding of the social context. Such programmes must address health, nutrition and education in a comprehensive manner. The article details findings and insights emerging from a qualitative study conducted in municipal schools in Delhi, located in contexts of poverty. The study identifies areas requiring changes in teacher education and health programmes. A creative methodology was utilised to record children's perceptions and teachers' views on health, which found that an approach that privileges the voices of the child and the school in public health planning can be very meaningful.

Community-based initiatives have become a popular approach to addressing the health needs of underserved populations, in both low- and higher-income countries. This article presents findings from a study of female peer facilitators involved in a community-based maternal and newborn health intervention in urban slum areas of Mumbai. Using qualitative methods we explore their role perceptions and experiences. Our findings focus on how the facilitators understand and enact their role in the community setting, how they negotiate relationships and health issues with peer groups, and the influence of credibility. We contextualize this within broader conceptualizations of peer-led health interventions and offer recommendations for similar community-based health initiatives. (Contains 2 figures.)

The authors surveyed 243 urban public university students who were born in the United States, China, and India to compare the health beliefs of the China-born, India-born, and US-born students. Although the China- and India-born students shared beliefs in many preventive and therapeutic practices of Western medicine with the US-born students, they retained some of their traditional health beliefs. This suggests that student health service clinicians should assess students' cultural beliefs and individualize healthcare for students from different countries. (Contains 4 tables.)

Background: Diabetes and hypertension are leading public health problems, particularly affecting low- and middle-income countries, with considerable variations in the care continuum between different age, socio-economic, and rural and urban groups. In this qualitative study, examining the factors affecting access to healthcare in Kerala, we aim to explore the healthcare-seeking pathways of people living with diabetes and hypertension., Methods: We conducted 20 semi-structured interviews and one focus group discussion (FGD) on a purposive sample of people living with diabetes and hypertension. Participants were recruited at four primary care facilities in Malappuram district of Kerala. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed deductively and inductively using thematic analysis underpinned by Levesque et al.'s framework., Results: The patient journey in managing diabetes and hypertension is complex, involving multiple entry and exit points within the healthcare system. Patients did not perceive Primary Health Centres (PHCs) as their initial points of access to healthcare, despite recognizing their value for specific services. Numerous social, cultural, economic, and health system determinants underpinned access to healthcare. These included limited patient knowledge of their condition, self-medication practices, lack of trust/support, high out-of-pocket expenditure, unavailability of medicines, physical distance to health facilities, and attitude of healthcare providers., Conclusion: The study underscores the need to improve access to timely diagnosis, treatment, and ongoing care for diabetes and hypertension at the lower level of the healthcare system. Currently, primary healthcare services do not align with the "felt needs" of the community. Practical recommendations to address the social, cultural, economic, and health system determinants include enabling and empowering people with diabetes and hypertension and their families to engage in self-management, improving existing health information systems, ensuring the availability of diagnostics and first-line drug therapy for diabetes and hypertension, and encouraging the use of single-pill combination (SPC) medications to reduce pill burden. Ensuring equitable access to drugs may improve hypertension and diabetes control in most disadvantaged groups. Furthermore, a more comprehensive approach to healthcare policy that recognizes the interconnectedness of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and their social determinants is essential., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Ravindranath, Sarma, Sivasankaran, Thankappan and Jeemon.)

Context: Adolescents constitute nearly 21% of the population in India. They are more likely to be constrained than adults from access to and timely use of appropriate care. Adolescence in girls is a turbulent period. The changes that take place during this period need to be made stress free. These are mostly physiological, for which simple family remedies can be found out. Objectives: 1. Assessing the health needs of adolescent girls living in an urban slum. 2. Identifying the barriers in accomplishing the health needs. Methodology: This was a community-based cross-sectional study with mixed method approach. A focus group discussion was held with 13 adolescent girls. FGD results were used to prepare a questionnaire to interview 80 adolescent girls. Results: The FGD revealed adolescent girls needed more information on menstrual hygiene, reproductive health, and its associated illness. Totally, 45% of the adolescent girls belonged to the age group 17–19 years. About 90% had inadequate knowledge on reproductive health. They preferred group sessions over one-to-one session on these topics and their mother as the source of information. Conclusion: The reproductive and sexual healthcare education that is currently being imparted to the girls need to be devised in such a way that it empowers them. A family member—the mother needs to be trained so that she can make this age transition smooth and stress free. The correct scientific knowledge will help in ensuring sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose:To assess the association between disability and serious health problems, and the access and uptake of health and rehabilitation services in Cameroon and India. Methods:We undertook a population-based case–control study, nested within a survey in Fundong Health District, North West Cameroon (August–October 2013) and in Mahbubnagar District, Telangana State, India (February–April 2014). Disability was defined as the presence of self-reported difficulties in functioning or clinical impairments. One control without disability was selected per case, matched by age, gender and cluster. Information was collected using structured questionnaires on: socioeconomic status, health, access to health services and rehabilitation. Results:Cases with disability were significantly more likely to report a serious health problem in the last year compared to controls in both India (OR = 3.2, 95% CI 2.1–4.8) and Cameroon (OR = 1.9, 1.4–2.7). The vast majority of people sought care when seriously ill, and this did not vary between cases and controls. Awareness and use of rehabilitation services was extremely low in both Cameroon and India. Conclusions:Further focus is needed to improve awareness of rehabilitation services among people with disabilities in India and Cameroon to ensure that their rights are fulfilled and to achieve the goal of Universal Health Coverage.Implications for RehabilitationPeople with and without disabilities equally seek health care in India and Cameroon.However, people with disabilities experience more frequent serious health problems than people without.Extremely few people with disabilities were aware of rehabilitation services despite their existence in the study settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In India, the number of people with disabilities is continuously growing over the past few decades. The figure is expected to increase due to population aging, with a resultant increase in chronic health conditions. The health of people with disabilities is a relatively neglected and ignored area. Further, the disabled face poor access to healthcare and frequently encounter discrimination or stigmatization. These situations make them more vulnerable to many comorbidities in their health, making severe compromises in their quality of life. Therefore, people with disabilities need special healthcare than people without disabilities. There is a need for sensitization of all health-care providers to ensure quality, affordable, and accessible health-care services for people with disabilities. To address the health-care needs of people with disabilities to the maximum, Ministry of Health, Government of India should incorporate appropriate guidelines in various national health programs and work together with a relevant ministry., Competing Interests: None