We believe the most effective health interventions are measures that aim to increase knowledge of basic health and hygiene practices thereby preventing the spread of communicable diseases. Such interventions lead to improved overall health of a community.

Biocon Foundation visits rural communities to conduct programs on the importance and long term benefits of basic hygiene within the home. The Foundation employs local women from the communities where ARY clinics are functioning and trains them to be link workers who increase health awareness in the said communities.

In 2009-10, the community health workers engaged in this project began regular outreach work aimed at educating the communities about the importance of availing primary health care facilities. The community health networks created by these community health workers have been essential in spreading awareness about the existing ARY Clinics and the facilities offered therein. Many patients, especially women from the community, expressed that they had never been treated with such respect at any health care center before. This has undoubtedly led to an increase in self esteem and confidence in the community which is an important and often neglected sphere of development.

The community health workers will be trained in basic issues related to child and maternal health, communicable diseases and non communicable diseases like Diabetes and Cancers. They will be equipped to provide guidance, motivation and information to the village communities where they work. An important part of their role is also to recognize when individuals require medical assistance and connect them to the Clinic/ Doctor to receive further care.

The importance of preventive health cannot be overstated or overemphasized. Our program focuses on: 

1. Water borne & hygiene related illnesses: 
   - Typhoid
   - Malaria
   - Dysentery
   - Dehydration
   - Dengue
   - Cholera

2. Chronic illnesses - early detection and prevention; management:
   - Cardiovascular 
   - Diabetes
   - Cancer
   - TB

3. Maternal & Childcare:
   - Immunization
   - Antenatal
   - Anemia
   - Nutrition

Methods Used to Disseminate and Assist

1. Preventive Health Education – through workshops and door to door interactions. This is done by our community health workers. They discuss best practices in personal and environmental hygiene, including good sanitation and hand washing habits.
2. Sanitation – building toilets or assisting with building toilets. We have built 800 toilets in Huskur & Anekal. We are now trying to find ways to optimize this program by helping people use government resources that are available.
3. Developing a mobile phone based diagnostic tool – that can be used by the community health worker to get provisional diagnoses that can be sent to the doctor at the ARY clinic at the hub.  This will help the doctor decide if the patient can be treated on the spot or needs to be brought into the clinic.
4. Screening and counseling for people with chronic illnesses like CVD / diabetes / Cancer / TB through health screening camps and mobile phone based screening tools.
5. Oral cancer screening program in collaboration with the Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre (MSCC) in Bangalore, India.
6. Mobile diabetic foot detection, treatment and counseling in collaboration with the Jain Institute of Vascular Sciences, Bangalore.
7. Maintenance of antenatal and immunization records
8. Ultrasound screening in collaboration in collaboration with GE Healthcare
9. Nutrition advice and counseling by the community health workers

NEW INITIATIVE – MOBILE PHONE BASED ORAL CANCER SCREENING PROTOCOL

The Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Centre & SANA  together have developed a mobile oral cancer screening program. We are excited about the potential of this program to detect oral cancer in the early stages or to detect people who have even one risk factor and can be persuaded to make lifestyle changes to mitigate this risk. 

A simple set of questions and answers asked by the CHW and checked on the mobile phone, can be combined with a picture and sent directly from the mobile phone to the central server in the hospital. Doctors in MSCC can then take over the treatment of the patient. This kind of screening has the potential to help MSCC identify high risk oral cancer patients (which is on the rise), help increase their survival rate and reduce their treatment costs. 

Biocon Foundation has launched the program in Chikkballapur where we have a clinic and a network of peer educators. Community health workers in the other 6 clinics are being trained and the program will be launched in all ARY clinics in Bagalkot, Mandya, Anekal, and Bangalore city.  

For more on program content click here.