Community-directed educational intervention for malaria elimination in Bhutan: quasi-experimental study in malaria endemic areas of Sarpang district.

Background: As per the World Malaria Report 2011, there was a 17% reduction in morbidity and 26% reduction in mortality in 2010, compared to 2000. In Bhutan, there were only 194 malaria cases in 2011 as compared to 5,935 cases in 2000. As the country moves towards an elimination phase, educating the community and empowering them on malaria prevention and control is imperative.

The burden and treatment outcomes of extra-pulmonary tuberculosis in Bhutan.

Setting: All tuberculosis (TB) registration sites in Bhutan.

Design: Cross-sectional study involving a retrospective review of TB registers and TB treatment cards.

Objectives: To determine: 1) the number and proportion of all TB cases registered as extra-pulmonary TB (EPTB) from 2001 to 2010, 2) the age and sex of the patients and the categories and types of EPTB registered in 2010, and 3) their treatment outcomes.

Childhood tuberculosis in Bhutan: profile and treatment outcomes.

Setting: All hospitals and health centres under the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTCP) in Bhutan.

Objective: To describe the number and proportion of childhood tuberculosis (TB) cases registered under the NTCP in 2010, their demographic and clinical characteristics and any associations with treatment outcomes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study involving a review of TB treatment cards and registers.

Health and Gross National Happiness: review of current status in Bhutan.

Worldwide, contemporary measures of the success of health development programs have been mostly in terms of the reduction of mortality and morbidity as well as increasing longevity. While these goals have yielded much-needed health improvements, the subjective outcomes of these improvements, as experienced by individuals and the communities, have not been considered. Bhutan, under the overarching policy of Gross National Happiness, has provided due consideration to these subjective indicators.