Development of preventive and social medicine

Development of preventive and social medicine:

The Public Health administration in India actually started in 1869 with the appointment of a Sanitary Commission. The first Municipal Act was passed in 1884 in Bengal. But in the Indian context J. P. Grant had visualized in 1939 that foreign models could not be suited for First Doctor Intervention or for Primary Health Care. His recommendations were also incorporated in Bhore Committee Report 1946, for building Community Physicians. The Bhore Committee’s Report laid the foundation of modern public health care in India.

On the recommendations of Medical Education Conference in 1955, departments of Preventive and Social Medicine were established in Medical colleges all over the country. The experimental learning of our predecessors and Gurus provided the foundation and led to growth and expansion of the frontiers of the subject of Community Medicine. It has today evolved as a field of learning that contributes immensely to the progress and development of societies, more significantly in developing nations like India. The professionals of Community Medicine have a major responsibility to shoulder i.e., to work for the health and well being of the people of India and contribute to education and production of basic doctors, well versed with handling community health problems. The objective of medical education is to produce a basic doctor who is competent to give comprehensive health care to individual, family and community. We need to bring about many changes, reforms in current medical education for achieving the desired objective.

These departments have teaching / training, service and research components. But initially more emphasis was placed on teaching / training aspect. Beyond 1975, faculty members of Community Medicine were enriched with the field experiences in training, monitoring and evaluation with active participation in various National Programmes like ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme), EPI (Expanded Program on Immunization), UIP (Universal Immunization Program), CSSM (Child Survival and Safe Motherhood programme), NACP (National AIDS Control Program), RCH (Reproductive and Child Health programme) and have shared their experiences with the District / State / National Health Programme managers and also translated their experiences in Undergraduate and Postgraduate training and teaching.There are variations in teaching / training in Preventive and Social Medicine in different states of India which reflects the cultural diversity and varying needs of the local community. The research component has been a very poorly developed component of PSM so far mainly because of scarcity of funds.

Medical colleges have the primary function of imparting undergraduate medical education. These colleges form the majority of institutions in India, which provide professional postgraduate qualification in Public Health. A school of public health like All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Calcutta, especially established for the purpose without the responsibility of undergraduate medical education is an exception.

It is noted that many medical colleges are unable to have good community‐oriented, field‐ based programmes for demonstration and participatory education of the undergraduates. Medical colleges, by and large, remain isolated from health care system and play very limited role in public health services. However, desirable and positive changes through various approaches are taking place in the medical education system all over the world and in our country to enable it to stand up to the expectations of the country in the context of its overall social‐economic‐health development process e.g., by reorientation of curriculum, by community‐based integrated teaching or by making medical colleges assume direct responsibility in providing health care, etc.

It is noted that many medical colleges are unable to have good community‐oriented, field‐ based programmes for demonstration and participatory education of the undergraduates. Medical colleges, by and large, remain isolated from health care system and play very limited role in public health services. However, desirable and positive changes through various approaches are taking place in the medical education system all over the world and in our country to enable it to stand up to the expectations of the country in the context of its overall social‐economic‐health development process e.g., by reorientation of curriculum, by community‐based integrated teaching or by making medical colleges assume direct responsibility in providing health care, etc.

It is noted that many medical colleges are unable to have good community‐oriented, field‐ based programmes for demonstration and participatory education of the undergraduates. Medical colleges, by and large, remain isolated from health care system and play very limited role in public health services. However, desirable and positive changes through

various approaches are taking place in the medical education system all over the world and in our country to enable it to stand up to the expectations of the country in the context of its overall social‐economic‐health development process e.g., by reorientation of curriculum, by community‐based integrated teaching or by making medical colleges assume direct responsibility in providing health care, etc.