A realist evaluation of the implementation of a national tobacco control program and policy in India.

There is a growing interest in studying and unpacking implementation of policies and programmes as it provides an opportunity to reduce the policy translation time lag taken for research findings to translate to policies and get implemented and understand why policies may fail. Realist evaluation is a theory-driven approach that embraces complexity and helps to identify the mechanisms generating the observed policy outcomes in given context. We aimed to study facilitators and barriers while implementing the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 (COTPA) a comprehensive national tobacco control policy, and the National Tobacco Control Programme (NTCP), 2008 using realist evaluation.

Navigating intersectoral collaboration in nutrition programming: implementors' perspectives from Assam, India.

Background: There is a growing interest in the use of intersectoral collaborative (ISC) approaches to address complex health-related issues. However, relatively little empirical research exists on the challenges of implementing, fostering and sustaining these approaches. Our study explores the perceptions and experiences of programme implementers regarding the implementation of an ISC approach, focusing on a case study of nutrition programming in Assam, India.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia, hypertension and diabetes among tribal and rural population in a south Indian forested region.

While NCDs are in rise globally, tribal and rural populations residing near to reserve forests with limited exposure to modern lifestyles may bear a unique burden. This study investigates the prevalence and risk factors of hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia among these communities. We conducted a cross-sectional study between 2018 and 2020 in the forest-dwelling population of Chamarajanagar, India.

Practices and outcomes of responsive caregiving on child neurodevelopment and mental health across diverse global populations: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Responsive caregiving (RC) leads to positive outcomes in children, including secure attachment with caregivers, emotional regulation, positive social interactions and cognitive development. Through our scoping review, we aim to summarise the practices and outcomes of RC in diverse caregiver and child populations from 0 to 8 years.

Methods And Analysis: We will use the Arksey and O'Malley framework and the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews.

Disproportionate infection, hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 in ethnic minority groups and Indigenous Peoples: an application of the Priority Public Health Conditions analytical framework.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in disproportionate consequences for ethnic minority groups and Indigenous Peoples. We present an application of the Priority Public Health Conditions (PPHC) framework from the World Health Organisation (WHO), to explicitly address COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses of pandemic potential. This application is supported by evidence that ethnic minority groups were more likely to be infected, implying differential exposure (PPHC level two), be more vulnerable to severe disease once infected (PPHC level three) and have poorer health outcomes following infection (PPHC level four).

Validation of ToucHb, a non-invasive haemoglobin estimation: Effective for normal ranges, needs improvement for anaemia detection.

Non-invasive methods for haemoglobin estimation hold enormous potential for early detection and treatment of anaemia, especially in limited resource settings. We sought to validate the diagnostic accuracy of ToucHb, a non-invasive haemoglobin estimation device available in the Indian market. We prospectively evaluated the diagnostic performance of the ToucHb device using the Automated complete blood count (CBC) method as the gold standard.

Coproducing tobacco control knowledge: Using virtual platforms to strengthen implementation in India.

Tobacco control is complex and multidimensional. In India, 266.8 million adults use tobacco in some form, with local contextual factors shaping its consumption, production, and trade.

COVID-19 and Multiple Inequalities The Case of a Coastal Community in Kerala.

Despite the overall achievements, Kerala's handling of its first case of community transmission in the coastal village of Poonthura came under severe criticism. In this article, the potential pathways to the resistance raised by the fisherfolk in Poonthura are explored, thereby placing their responses as historically and politically embedded ones.

How do tobacco control policies work in low-income and middle-income countries? A realist synthesis.

Background: The burden of tobacco use is disproportionately high in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is scarce theorisation on what works with respect to implementation of tobacco control policies in these settings. Given the complex nature of tobacco control policy implementation, diversity in outcomes of widely implemented policies and the defining role of the context, we conducted a realist synthesis to examine tobacco control policy implementation in LMICs.

Factors influencing the emergence of self-reliance in primary health care using traditional medicine: A scoping review.

Self-reliance is the responsible behavior and the ability of an individual to take care of one's own health using local resources. A substantial proportion of the population use traditional medicine (TM) for primary health care (PHC) in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). The underlying philosophy of the TM approach is self-reliance due to its emphasis on culture, traditions, customs, and local resources.

Eco-geographic patterns of child malnutrition in India and its association with cereal cultivation: An analysis using demographic health survey and agriculture datasets.

High prevalence of maternal malnutrition, low birth-weight and child malnutrition in India contribute substantially to the global malnutrition burden. Rural India has disproportionately higher levels of child malnutrition. Stunting and wasting are the primary determinants of child malnutrition and their district-level distribution shows clustering in different geographies and regions.

Crying baby gets the milk? The governmentality of grievance redressal for patient rights violations in Karnataka, India.

Background: Patient rights aim to protect the dignity of healthcare-seeking individuals. Realisation of these rights is predicated on effective grievance redressal for the victims of patient rights violations.

Methods: We used a critical case (that yields the most information) of patient rights violations reported in Karnataka state (South India) to explore the power dynamics involved in resolving grievances raised by healthcare-seeking individuals.

Increasing risks for emerging infectious diseases within a rapidly changing High Asia.

The cold and arid mountains and plateaus of High Asia, inhabited by a relatively sparse human population, a high density of livestock, and wildlife such as the iconic snow leopard Panthera uncia, are usually considered low risk for disease outbreaks. However, based on current knowledge about drivers of disease emergence, we show that High Asia is rapidly developing conditions that favor increased emergence of infectious diseases and zoonoses. This is because of the existing prevalence of potentially serious pathogens in the system; intensifying environmental degradation; rapid changes in local ecological, socio-ecological, and socio-economic factors; and global risk intensifiers such as climate change and globalization.

Factors associated with inequality in composite index of anthropometric failure between the tribal communities in wayanad district of Kerala.

Background: Tribal children in India bear a higher burden of undernutrition when compared to other communities. However, inequality within tribal communities is under-researched.

Objectives: To examine the factors associated with inequality in undernutrition between Paniya and Kurichiya tribal communities in Wayanad district of Kerala.

The Health of Indigenous Populations in South Asia: A Critical Review in a Critical Time.

Despite South Asia's promising social inclusion processes, staggering social and health inequalities leave indigenous populations largely excluded. Marginalization in the South Asian polity, unequal power relations, and poor policy responses deter Adivasi populations' rights and opportunities for health gains and dignity. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is likely to result in a disproportionate share of infections and deaths among the Adivasis, given poor social conditions and exclusions.

Towards Health Equity and Transformative Action on tribal health (THETA) study to describe, explain and act on tribal health inequities in India: A health systems research study protocol.

In India, heterogenous tribal populations are grouped together under a common category, Scheduled Tribe, for affirmative action. Many tribal communities are closely associated with forests and difficult-to-reach areas and have worse-off health and nutrition indicators. However, poor population health outcomes cannot be explained by geography alone.

Advancing the application of systems thinking in health: a realist evaluation of a capacity building programme for district managers in Tumkur, India.

Background: Health systems interventions, such as capacity-building of health workers, are implemented across districts in order to improve performance of healthcare organisations. However, such interventions often work in some settings and not in others. Local health systems could be visualised as complex adaptive systems that respond variously to inputs of capacity building interventions, depending on their local conditions and several individual, institutional, and environmental factors.