Resources

Article: A Trauma-informed Consultation Model for Treating Survivors of Child Labour

With the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), in partnership with the Harvard
T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Medical Aid Films, the article is authored by Purabi Chatterjee, Vinni Bhandari, Bizu Gelaye, Alexandra Harrison, Aya Aboelghar and Elizabeth J. Levey, published in Sage Publications Journal Institutionalised Children Explorations and Beyond, 10(1), 69–75.

Child labour is a global problem that affects children’s lives. Children engage in work that is physically, mentally, and emotionally harmful. Previous studies have found that exposure to work as a child is associated with adverse mental health outcomes, and severity is related to the intensity and type of work. India is ranked highest in terms of children in labour in South Asia, according to ILO estimates. The Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) is a non-profit organization focused on addressing the problem of child labour in India. It works to rescue children from bonded labour and return them to their families or place them in rehabilitation centres. KSCF partnered with the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Medical Aid Films to create a consultation program that aims to support the children and the caregivers at the rehabilitation centres. The program includes a series of short animated films, a trauma training curriculum, and ongoing case consultation with the caregivers.

Click here to read the article.

Interim Report: Jan Andolan for Maternal and Child Health: Communication, Beliefs and Practices among Pregnant and Lactating Women

As part of the nutrition communication and behavior change project led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in technical partnership with the Harvard Chan – India Research Center and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center has developed an interim report titled ‘Jan Andolan for Maternal and Child Health: Communication, Beliefs, and Practices among Pregnant and Lactating Women’. The report outlines key findings and policy implications from focus group discussions with pregnant women and lactating mothers in India, on topics such as breastfeeding, complementary feeding, immunization, and care-seeking behaviors.

The report is a part of the Ministry’s larger initiative focused on documenting, testing, and evaluating Social and Behavior Change Communication strategies to promote nutrition-seeking behaviors through Jan Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan, among pregnant and lactating women and community health workers. The report is a part of the Ministry’s larger initiative focused on documenting, testing, and evaluating Social and Behavior Change Communication strategies to promote nutrition-seeking behaviors through Jan Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan, among pregnant and lactating women and community health workers.

Click here to view the interim report.

Article: A community-based noncommunicable disease prevention intervention in Punjab, India: Baseline characteristics of 11,322 adults

As part of the research project led by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health – India Research Center in partnership with the Ambuja Cement Foundation, the team recently published an article “A community-based noncommunicable disease prevention intervention in Punjab, India: Baseline characteristics of 11,322 adults” in the “Indian Journal of Community Medicine”.

The article describes the results of a large-scale, community-based non-communicable diseases screening conducted in Punjab, India, using the Government of India’s Community Based Assessment Checklist (CBAC) scoring system. The study is unique, given that it is one of the attempts to estimate the prevalence of high-risk CBAC scores in a large population-based sample. Given that the Government of India aims to undertake population-based screening of all adults for Non-Communicable Diseases, the results of this study are directly translatable for policy action.

Click here to read the article.

Developed and led by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India in technical partnership with the Harvard Chan – India Research Center and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the e-book analyses literature, population-level data, and promising practices to improve nutrition-seeking behaviors within communities. These include strategies, messages, media channels, and cultural platforms. The e-book is a part of the Ministry’s larger initiative aimed to document, test & evaluate Social & Behavior Change Communication strategies to promote nutrition-seeking behaviors through Jan Andolan for POSHAN Abhiyaan, among pregnant women & Anganwadi Workers.
Jennifer Sittig, MPH 2019 conducted a mixed methods gap analysis in order to 1) identify gaps in existing mental health research in Mumbai, and 2) expose challenges and opportunities for addressing mental health through perspectives of local mental health experts. Her research was partially supported through the Rose Service Learning Fellowship at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The faculty advisor for this project was Dr. Bizu Gelaye in the Department of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

A recent study led by Dr. S V Subramanian, Professor of Population Health and Geography at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on “Burden of Child Malnutrition in India: A View from Parliamentary Constituencies” 

The study has analysed population data at the level of parliamentary constituencies which has the potential to bring political accountability to the data-driven policy discourse that is currently based on district-level estimates. Using data from the fourth National Family Health Survey 2016, two geographic information systems methodologies were developed and applied to provide estimates of four child malnutrition indicators (stunting, underweight, wasting, and anemia) for the 543 parliamentary constituencies in India. The results indicate that several constituencies experience a multiple burden of child malnutrition that must be addressed concurrently and as a priority.

Click here to read the study.

Click here to access the data and map visualisations on the “Parliamentary Constituency Factsheet for Indicators of Nutrition, Health and Development in India”.

Active Case Findings and Patient Retention in Tuberculosis Care

Manvi Poddar, a product design graduate from the Indian School of Design and Innovation, Parsons, worked with India Research Center on a project that aims to use research findings, as they relate to the role of health visitors in active case findings and patient retention. As a part of her graduation thesis, she recommended an assistive intervention that can help reduce the workload of Health Visitors through a systematic analysis of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme 2017 – 2015 and it’s web enabled patient management system for TB control – NIKSHAY. The intervention proposes the redesign of the features in NIKSHAY; and expands its scope to accelerate a collaborative effort that empowers, educates and facilitates the needs of patients, health visitors, and the community. She was mentored by Dr. Sarthak Das of Harvard Chan.

Click here to view the document.

The Bernard Lown Scholars in Cardiovascular Health Program

The Program is designed to create an international cadre of talented health professionals who will use public health tools and strategies to prevent cardiovascular diseases and promote cardiovascular health in developing countries, as defined by the United Nations.

Considerations for strengthening of Ambuja Cement Foundation’s program on Non-communicable Diseases

In January 2019, Harvard Chan India Research Center hosted Ariel Skeath, Master of Public Policy student at Harvard Kennedy School focusing on global health and education, to conduct a practicum field visit and strategic assessment of Ambuja Cement Foundation’s Non-communicable Diseases program in rural Chandrapur.

Symposium on Models for Control of Noncommunicable Diseases in Global Health

India Research Center held its inaugural symposium on Noncommunicable Diseases, with the goal of discussing evidence-based best practices from around the globe and then considering emerging models and potential solutions for the Indian context. Dr. Lindsay Jaacks delivered the opening keynote on evidence-based models for NCD prevention with a focus on diet and nutrition-related interventions. Dr. K. Viswanath presented on behavior change campaigns, and Dr. Richard Cash lectured on research ethics and childhood obesity.

Watch Dr. Lindsay Jaacks’ opening keynote here.

Watch Dr. K. Viswanath’s keynote address here.

Training Modules on Implementation Sciences in Public Health

Dr. Karen Emmons, Dr. K. Viswanath and Dr. Shoba Ramanadhan of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health conducted a training workshop on “Implementation Sciences in Public Health”. The aim of the workshop was to use local case studies to teach the basics of evidence translation into policy and practice.

Click here to refer to the training modules.

Report on Developing an Action Plan for “Jan Andolan” in the State of Maharashtra

In partnership with Department of Women and Child Development, Government of Maharashtra & UNICEF Maharashtra, India Research Center conducted a 2-day training workshop on how Health Communication can be used for mass mobilization and Jan Andolan to improve nutrition outcomes amongst children. The workshop was conducted by Dr. K. Viswanath of Harvard Chan.

A report for developing an Action Plan on community mobilization for improved nutrition seeking behaviours to was submitted to Government of Maharashtra.

Click here to view the report.