Tag: health policy

History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Medicine & Doctors · Public health · Recommended movies, books etc.

The history of medicine in India: Some reading recommendations for doctors and other healthcare practitioners

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

Over the last two years I have fortunately had the time and resources to read some excellent scholarship on the history of medicine and public health in India. These books and articles have immensely helped me to understand the historical beginnings and trajectories of the different aspects of healthcare in our country. For example, one… Continue reading The history of medicine in India: Some reading recommendations for doctors and other healthcare practitioners

Culture & Life · History India South Asia · History of Medicine · Public health

The “oppressive” history of family planning and population control in India

Kiran Kumbhar1 Comment

I wrote this for Swaddle on July 8 2018. Here is the original article. I based it primarily on the book ‘Reproductive Restraints: Birth Control in India, 1877-1947’ by historian Sanjam Ahluwalia of Northern Arizona University Below are some excerpts: Birth control began in India not as a free choice by individuals to manage their fertility, but as… Continue reading The “oppressive” history of family planning and population control in India

Medicine & Doctors · Politics · Public health

Why Indians need to abandon the ‘Gujarat model’ style of thinking

Kiran KumbharLeave a comment

Recently the Maharashtra state govt hiked the user charges and fees in government hospitals. In a country where more than 60 million persons are pushed below the poverty line because of healthcare expenses and many millions more have to take huge loans, government hospitals raising their fees – while at the same time government employees… Continue reading Why Indians need to abandon the ‘Gujarat model’ style of thinking

Culture & Life · Public health

The ‘missing women’ of India

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Amartya Sen introduced the term ‘missing women’, in the early 1990s, as a highly effective way of talking about the impact of gender discrimination in societies. This work is perhaps the finest example of Sen’s unique style of blending hard economics with ethics, social sensibilities, and humanitarianism, as well as advocating for social equality and… Continue reading The ‘missing women’ of India

Medicine & Doctors · Public health

Targeting doctors and hospitals is an unproductive ‘solution’ for unnecessary C-sections – it is time we enlisted them as partners

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This was published in The Swaddle on October 1 2017. Here is the link and below is an extract: The government, having already displayed interest in addressing this issue, must arrive at an evolving strategy through a general consensus of patient advocates, doctors, nurses and midwives, public health experts, and social workers. It could begin… Continue reading Targeting doctors and hospitals is an unproductive ‘solution’ for unnecessary C-sections – it is time we enlisted them as partners

Medicine & Doctors · Public health

Why the MTP Bill 2014 favors AYUSH docs and nurses as abortion providers

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This was published in The Swaddle on September 3. Here is the link, and below is an extract. “One way to do that is to expand the number of trained abortion practitioners. Women in India undergo unsafe abortions for several reasons, but a major factor is the unavailability of safe and legal abortion services in most… Continue reading Why the MTP Bill 2014 favors AYUSH docs and nurses as abortion providers

Medicine & Doctors · Public health

India’s efforts to make medicines affordable for citizens

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This was published in The Better India on June 13 2017. Here is the link, and below is an extract: “Looking at the bigger picture, it is important that India does not stop here, but that we aim for prioritizing and making, at the soonest, all healthcare services (and not just generic medicines) accessible and affordable for all… Continue reading India’s efforts to make medicines affordable for citizens

Medicine & Doctors · Public health

What we can learn from hospitals which have successfully brought down their C-section rates

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This was published in ‘The Better India’ on May 6 2017. Here is the link, and below is an excerpt. New research from Harvard Medical School in the US, where too the ‘profit motive’ gets disproportionately blamed, emphasizes what could be called system factors: limited resources, high workload, limited motivation, and limited accountability. These put… Continue reading What we can learn from hospitals which have successfully brought down their C-section rates