Background: Under National Rural Health Mission in 2007, Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) were introduced to strengthen health care services. As majority of health infrastructure is in existence before introduction of IPHS, there was scant information available on assessment of these standards. This study was carried out with the objective to assess quality of reproductive health care provided by community health centers (CHC).Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2013. All of the 17 community health centers from 12 talukas of the district were studied. Data collection was carried out by administering pilot tested checklist and interviewing clients.Results: All the CHCs had adequate infrastructure. Highest score was obtained for input (64%). The overall score in process section was 45%. None of the CHCs had a full-time anesthetist, physician, public health programme manager or public health nurse. At only three CHCs, general surgeon was available. Availability of MOs was 85% and Pharmacist was 88% respectively.Conclusions: Deployment and availability of specialist is the need of the hour. Adequate emphasis needs to be given to processes and outputs as well, apart from inputs. Public private partnership can be explored for better utilization of services. There is a need of up gradation of existing CHCs keeping in the view of IPHS norms.

<p class="abstract">Writing a proper research proposal is the most important step in conducting a scientific study. Whether the researcher intends to submit the proposal to an ethical committee, research body or funding organization, it is vital that the proposal clearly states why the study is planned, how it is proposed to be conducted and the researcher’s commitment to its principles. The current study was carried out to find out common errors committed while submission of research protocol to the scientific review committee (SRC). In 2015, based on feedback and experience of experts in the field and to improve the scientific and technical content of the proposals received, institutional ethical committee for human research was divided into two sub-committees; SRC and institutional ethics committee. This article reports analysis of 100 proposals based on a checklist for submission and discussion during SRC meetings on errors committed. Top ten errors observed were: Incomplete annexure and missing permissions; imprecision and lack of scientific validity in aims and objectives; inappropriate or incomplete statistics; inappropriate; suboptimal instrumentation; lack of clarity on predictor and outcome variables; data collection procedures and analysis lacked completeness; title lacked accuracy and clarity; inappropriate study design; ethical requirements incomplete and sample too small or biased. All errors were reviewed and rectified. Constitution of a separate SRC was found to be effective in providing independent, competent and timely review of all the protocols submitted to it for their scientific merits and feasibility.</p>

Introduction : The Graduate Medical Education Regulation (GMR) 2019 in the curricular reforms recommends that “Shows How” level of the Miller's Pyramid is assessed through long case, Objective Structured Clinical Examination and Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini CEX). Objectives : 1. To utilize OSCE for assessing Field Visits carried out by Undergraduate medical students as formative assessment. 2. To find out the feasibility and effectiveness of Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Community Medicine. Method : An Educational Innovation Pilot Project was carried out in the department rd of Community Medicine of a Medical College in India. A pilot (18) of 3 MBBS students were assessed through Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) for epidemiological case study of malaria assigned to the author faculty. These students were also exposed to the oral viva. The analysis of the assessment was through assessment of codes of the procedure stations through checklists and mean scores of procedure and response stations. Qualitative analysis of emerging themes and quantitative analysis as likert scale were utilized for evaluation of the exam were used. Results : The mean score of all response stations was 5.1. Almost all students felt that OSCE was better than the conventional oral viva in assessing skills. Furthermore, almost all students and faculties suggested that it should gradually become a part of curriculum and scaled to entire and other batches with suggested modifications. The residents who participated as simulated cases found it to be a novel experience and a different kind of learning process. Conclusion : It is feasible to introduce OSCE with some modifications in assessing skills acquired in field visits in Community Case Management.

What problem was addressed? A curriculum defines the learning that is expected to take place during a course or programme of study in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. The written and published curriculum is the official or formal curriculum. Curriculum or course needs to be monitored and evaluated to ensure that it is working as planned and also to identify areas or improvement. This study was conducted with the objectives to: identify the need for a common Post-Graduate Curriculum; enlist the must know, nice to know and desired to know areas and; enlist the areas for teaching and assessment in Community Medicine in Medical Colleges of a state in India.

Introduction: The elderly population is growing much faster. Ageing is a global phenomenon and it is expected that by 2050 every country in the world will have substantial increase in population aged 60 years and above. Malnutrition is common among older people over 60 years of age. They are likely to experience morbidity, premature mortality, poor quality of life and reduced functional ability than normally nourished persons. Malnutrition increases health care costs, reduces productivity, and slows economic growth, which can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill-health. Hence combating malnutrition in all its forms is one of the greatest global health challenges. Objective: 1) To assess the nutritional status among elderly population in Hyderabad. 2) To assess the risk factors which are associated with malnutrition among elderly population. Method: A Cross sectional study was conducted in July - September 2021 among elderly persons aged 60 years and above residing in urban slums of Hyderabad. Considering the estimated prevalence of malnutrition among elderly population to be 14.5%, the sample size was calculated as 198 and was rounded off to 200. Data was entered into Microsoft Excel and analysed using Epi Info version 7.2.2.6. A predesigned, pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect data. Malnutrition was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA). Results: Among 200 participants, 52.5% were females. The mean age of the study population was 68.3 years. Among them 18% of the study participants were malnourished, 27% were at risk of malnutrition and 55% had normal nutritional status. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and prompt treatment of elderly people at high risk for malnutrition may improve their nutritional status and prognosis.