On May 7, 2018, Dr. Purnima Madhivanan presented a lecture on the Public Health Research Institute of India (PHRII) and its workings in communities with health disparities in Mysore. Originally focusing her studies on children with HIV and AIDS, Dr. Madhivanan formed PHRII in 2007. She has put more than ten years of work into the program, conducting research and making PHRII a government recognized research institute in India. With her medical background, Dr. Madhivanan presents the strategies behind PHRII and how it successfully helps rural communities.

 

Dr. Madhivanan went in depth on PHRII and its mission, which included “increas[ing] the amount of basic and translational research conducted on women’s health issues in India” and “provid[ing] a platform for collaborative research, research mentoring, and research training in public health disciplines” (2018). PHRII focuses on women’s health, specifically cervical cancer, which contributes to 6%- 29% of all cancers in women in India (Bobdey,2016, p.278). PHRII gives women, in low-income situations, free cervical cancer screenings and also educates them on reproductive health and HIV transmission. In her lecture, Dr. Madhivanan speaks about the enhanced Maternal Child Health Program. This program focuses on increasing HIV services for women in rural areas. Somethings Dr. Madhivanan stressed are the components that go into creating a successful strategy that benefits these women and their community. These components included: 1. Training the health care providers, since many women don’t have access to doctors, the providers include Ashas and Midwives, 2. Engaging the community to develop support for rural ANC programs, and 3. Providing mobile health clinics, with counseling, HIV testing, and PMTCT services. There is an estimate of 2.5 million people living with HIV in India and it is predicted to become the number one country in the world for HIV (Agarwal, 2012). Without educating and gaining support throughout a community it becomes very difficult to manage HIV within these communities. By just giving resources to a community many may not benefit, because members in that community may not know how to use those specific resources. Dr. Madhivanan teaches that it is important to educate a community on the resources they are being given. Due to the Maternal Child Health Program’s focus on women and children with HIV/AIDS, this lecture is very relevant to my experience due to my research topic on children’s health, specifically children with HIV. This lecture uses first-hand experience and research to show the best way to help rural areas with HIV/AIDS. I can use the information and strategies learned through the lecture in the future and in different areas around the world.

 

The components for a successful strategy shown in Dr. Madhivanan’s PowerPoint, bring to light a global issue that usually goes unnoticed. Only 50% of adults and 33% of children with HIV in India are receiving and taking medication (avert.og). While many rural communities, not just in India, but around the world lack medical resources, just bringing resources to a community does not fix their health problems. Many people in that community may not know how to use the resources or be afraid to use these new, unknown resources and so much of the time resources given go unused. In Dr. Madhivanan’s lecture, she brings up the value of education. When giving resources to an area, it is important to educate the people in that area on those resources, so not only do they know how to use them, but they feel comfortable and see the benefit in using them. Dr. Madhivanan mentioned a personal example she had with PHRII where they gave basic medical kits to midwives in rural villages. It turns out many women did not even know what a glove was, one of the most basic items they had never seen before. This proves the importance of not only giving resources to rural villages but educating them on those resources. This topic was stressed by Dr. Madhivanan who again through personal experience with PHRII, discovered the most successful strategies for benefitting rural areas, with education being at the top.

 

While listening to Dr.Madhivanan’s lecture, I found it to be very eye-opening. Growing up looking at charities and seeing advertisements and commercials, the one thing that was always emphasized was resources. It never occurred to me that giving resources could make no difference in a rural community and that people can choose not to use the resources given to them. In the lecture, Dr. Madhivanan showed us how much work a person has to put in if they truly want to benefit a community. After watching her lecture, I had to ask myself, am I willing to put in that much work in order to help others? Based on my reaction to the lecture I assessed myself and found that I am willing to put the work in if it means I will successfully benefit a community. Based on my reaction to the lecture I discovered how unknown the issue of giving resources without education is to many people in the US. Many share a similar experience of assuming that all rural areas need are resources. Based on my reaction to Dr. Madhivanan’s lecture it is important to emphasize education when giving resources to rural communities.

​

Overall Dr. Madhivanan’s lecture was very informative and showed me a new angle of looking at situations. The components for a successful strategy, specifically educating a community is something I can use with my research topic of children’s health and in the future for other global topics. 

 

Sources:

 

Madhivanan, P. (2018). Working in Communities with Health Disparities in Mysore District [PowerPoint Slides]. 

 

Bobdey, S., Sathwara, J., Jain, A., Balasubramaniam, G. (2016). Burden of cervical cancer and role of screening in India. Indian Journal of Medicine & Pediatric Oncology, 37. Retrieved from https://login.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=120269615&site=eds-live

 

Agarwal, S., & de Araujo, P. (2012). On the association between HIV knowledge and unsafe sexual behaviour in india. International Journal of Development Issues, 11(3), 227-234. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/10.1108/14468951211262260 

 

HIV and AIDS in India. (2017). Retrieved from https://www.avert.org/professionals/hiv-around-world/asia-pacific/india