An effervescent 18-year-old, Preethi Srinivasan, a super achiever in every field. The world was at her feet and the stars in her eyes when overnight she turned into a quadriplegic. Preethi, today, is still reaching out to the world from her wheelchair and her organisation Soulfree is out to create great opportunities for those confined to the wheelchair.
A freewheeling talk with the bright, young lady who, incidentally, talks into a speech activated software,…
"Women are referred to a gynaecologist at a higher facility; this is a major reason for loss to follow-up". Dr. Suneeta Krishnan shares with PatientsEngage her findings and recommendations of the implementation science research project to promote the adoption and effective scale-up of cervical cancer prevention in India. 1. According to you, which screening method is the most cost-effective? According to the World Health Organization (WHO), screening for cervical cancer through…
An awareness film made by Indian Association of Palliative Care based on excerpts from over 200 interviews conducted with working and retired nurses across India
To address misconceptions and concerns about employment for people with mental health issues, we speak with Dr Mangala, a consultant psychiatrist with SCARF (Schizophrenia Research Foundation). Could you please explain what in medical parlance is known as ‘Mentally ill or Mentally Disabled’? Are these labels useful/helpful? A disturbance in one’s ability to think, behave or express feelings is termed as mental illness. When someone lacks the ability to: meet or fulfill basic…
One of India’s first assisted living centres for adults with autism, Arunima, located on the foothills of Himalayas in Dehradun, was started by Aparna Das. In the following interview she stresses the need to be more conscious about differently abled people. Could you tell us a little about Arunima? “Arunima” is an organization set up to meet the needs of persons with Autism who have outgrown the “school system” and now have the rest of their lives to look forward to - a life…
Jane Prior of the Bone Marrow Donor Programme, Singapore takes a closer look at the myths and misconceptions surrounding the impact bone marrow donation may have on your own health. First, we need to understand why we need to donate blood stem cells. Certain diseases destroy bone marrows or cause it to not function normally. As bone marrow is crucial in the production of blood, this may lead to the endangerment of one’s life if the bone marrow is not working properly. Myth 1:…
Cuddles Foundation is one of the few NGOs in India that provides holistic nutritional support to impoverished children so that they can survive the trauma of cancer. In an interview founder-member Purnota Dutta Bahl stresses the need to fight malnutrition to save lives. How important is nutrition in the fight against childhood cancer? 50,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year in India. Only 22% of these even make it to the hospital for treatment. 4 out of 10 children…
Although characters portrayed with mental illness have progressed from the Victorian era, more novels with believable and real protagonists need to be authored, says writer, poet and activist Jhilmil Breckenridge. If you say you have diabetes, people engage, ask about your medication, and say, oh you should not be eating rice, or potatoes, and so it goes. But if you say you have schizophrenia, for example, there will be an uncomfortable hush, as though you have just…
The proposed Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill smacks of hypocrisy and lip service. Should it be shown the door? An impassioned plea by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India - Chennai Chapter INDIA MS DAY - 7th FEB 2016 India MS Day is on the First Sunday of February. This year we observe the 1st India MS Day which is on February 7, 2016. This is to raise awareness of Multiple Sclerosis in India. India MS Day is being highlighted by the colour RED. It also coincides with the…
