The Community Medicine Department trains the undergraduate and postgraduate students in the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health and efficiency through organized community. The main goal of the Department of Community Medicine is to provide community oriented health care education blended with research, leadership and management, and thereby prepare medical students to function as community and primary care physicians. The main values inculcated among the students are (i) Community orientation, (ii) Community participation, (iii) Human and cost effective health care, (iv) Ethically driven primary health care, (v) Inter-sectoral co-ordination in health care, and (v) Research with ethical and moral values.
To move towards the achievement of these goals, the department conducts many programs.
It provides Undergraduate Training and Post Graduate Training. It offers health services at Rural health Training Centre / Primary Health Centre situated at Kannamangala, field practice areas; and the Urban Health Training Centre. It extends its health services by holding screening, school health appraisal services, family health services and Outreach health education sessions on issues of public health importance in the field practice areas and the nearby areas and also participates in various national programmes and important Health Days. The Department has to its credit excellent infrastructure, good facilities, a good research background coupled with trained and highly qualified manpower. The students who go through this course during their tenure at VIMS & RC are placed to learn and practice Primary health care at the Urban and Rural Health Centres in the field practice areas. During their internship period, the students work in various places like RHTC / UHTC/ CHC and General Hospitals for 12 weeks period.
The department has an Urban Health Training Centre at Lake side hospital, which caters to surrounding slums covering a population of about 15155. The centre provides free out patient service and free drug distribution. Patients needing inpatient care are referred to Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre Hospital. Regular health checkup and Health education camps are also conducted by the department.
The main Rural Health Training Centre is situated at Kannamangala. This comes under Avalahalli CHC. It caters to a population of 97740. The services provided at RHTC include 24 hours outpatient care and inpatient care with delivery facilities. The centre has also implemented the various National Health Programmes in this area.
The Specialists services provided from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre at RHTC include General Medicine, General Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Paediatrics, ENT, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Pulmonology, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Endocrinology, and Dentistry, which are provided on week days . There is additional Primary Health Centre in Handenahalli catering to a population of 40,460 respectively. The Interns, Undergraduate and Post graduates students together with the faculty, Health Inspectors and Social workers provide comprehensive health care to the community at these field practice areas.
Patients from Rural Health Centres who require Tertiary Care are referred to Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre Hospital for further treatment. Cataract surgeries are conducted free for people from the rural community and urban slums.
Specialist Health Camps: Specialist health camps are conducted on a regular basis in the surrounding villages and urban slums of the college. A total of 114 camps have been conducted in the past year and over 7000 people have been screened for health problems at these camps. Patients requiring further treatment are referred and treated for free at Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre.
School Health Appraisal Programme: The department conducts regular school health appraisal activities in the schools situated in the field practice areas, where all school children are evaluated for various health problems like visual abnormalities, vitamin deficiency, dental diseases, mental disorders and skin diseases.
DRP Programme: PG residents are posted for 3 months on rotation in General hospital. They are exposed to District Health System. They are involved in providing healthcare services.
The department runs a Statistical Cell to serve the Statistical needs and to enhance research activities in the Institution. It offers postgraduate and undergraduate teaching programme related to statistics to several health science courses.
The department uses the software IBM SPSS Statistics Version 21
An epidemiological unit is present in the hospital which focuses on the surveillance of communicable and non-communicable diseases, investigation of epidemics in the community and surveillance of water quality in the field practice area.
Regular immunization as well as Antenatal & Postnatal clinics is conducted in the Rural Health Training Centres and Urban Health Training Centre. Antenatal mothers receive monthly check-ups by obstetricians from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre. They are also given TT injections and IFA tablets at the RHTC.
Postnatal mothers are given check-ups by Interns and Postgraduates as well as by OBG Specialist. Those who completed their families are motivated for TO/LTO. The mothers who require spacing methods are motivated for IUCD, OCP or Conventional contraceptive methods.
Health check-up of under five children is being carried out regularly at the Anganwadis situated in the field practice area. These children are given treatment for Acute Respiratory Infections, Diarrhoea or other ailments at the Rural & Urban Health Centres. Those who require further investigation and management are referred to Vydehi Hospital.
Children who are undernourished are provided Nutrition supplementation and their mother’s receive Nutritional Education by the Interns, Postgraduates and Medico-Social workers. These children are regularly dewormed every 6 months. They are monitored closely for improvement in their nutritional status using Growth Chart.
| Sl no | Author 1st, 2nd and corresponding author | Title of paper | National or international | Citation of the journal | Indexing details | Date of publication | Pageno, vol,ISSN no |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Dr Kalliguddi S, Dr Sharma S, Dr Chaitali Gore | Knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast self- examination amongst female IT professionals in Silicon Valley of India. | International | Family Med Prim Care | Pubmed | 2019 | Vol.8:568-72 ISSN:2249-4863 |
| 2. | Dr Preethika Palani, Dr Chaitali Gore, Dr Chaitali Gore | Eating Disorders and its Correlates among Medical Students in Bengaluru, India | National | Annals of Community Health | Doaj, index medicus | Jan-Mar 2020 | Vol.8(1):11-14 ISSN:2347-5455 |
| 3. | Dr Chaitali A Gore, Dr A. Gajare Rupali, | Mental Health Status of People of Maharashtra Due to Corona Virus Disease-19 Pandemic. | Natioial | IndiaAnnals of Community Health.Jan-Mar 2020;8(1):11-14. | Doaj, index medicus | Jul-Sep 2020 | Vol.8(3): 6-10 ISSN:2347-5455 |
| 4. | Dr Aparna Narayana Gollu, Dr Chaitali Gore | Knowledge, Awareness and Attitude of Medical Students Regarding HPV Infection and HPV Vaccination. | International | Asian Pac J Cancer Care | Doaj | 2021 | Vol.6 (1), 41-46 ISSN:2588-3682 |
| 5. | Gore CA, Mangala S, Ammar M. A | Study on feedback by undergraduate medical students for the foundation course under competency-based medical education: An institution-based cross-sectional study. | International | MRIMS J Health Sciences | Doaj | 2021 | Vol.9(4):164-8. |
| 6. | Prasad P, Gore C, Suresh S, R Pavan. | Prevalence of anaemia among female undergraduate medical students | International | Paripex – Indian journal of research | Index medicus | 2022 | Vol.11(10):15-7 |
| 7. | Shivalli S, Hondappagol A, Akshaya KM, Nirgude A, Varun N, Reddy RHR, Sharath BN | Does mobile phone instructional video demonstrating sputum expectoration improve the sputum sample quality and quantity in presumptive pulmonary TB cases? Protocol for a prospective pragmatic non-randomised controlled trial in Karnataka state, India; | International | BMJ Open | Scopus, the science citation index expanded., pubmed central, embase (excerpta medica), doaj and google scholar | 2020 | 10:e032991. doi:10.1136/bmjopen2019-032991 |
| 8. | Dr AmeyJoshi, Dr Raveendra H R Reddy, Dr Raveendra H R Reddy | The prevalence of stress, stressors and coping mechanisms and the socio-demographic factors associated among the auto-rickshaw drivers in Bengaluru city. | International | J Family Med Prim Care | Pubmed, scopus indxed, directory of open access journals, indian science abstracts | 13 October 2021 | 10:2546-51. https://www.jfmpc.com/text.asp?/10/7/2546/322751 |
| 9. | Tejashree A, Mahes PA, Karthik MK, Nirmala, Azeem A, Reddy RHR, Chengappa R, Burigina SN. . | Era of TB elimination: Growing need to understand diversities of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineages! | National | Indian Journal of Tuberculosis | Ugc care. Scopus. Web of science (scie) | 2022 | Vol.69(1) :79-84 |
| 10. | Udaykumar P, Kumar Saurabh, Chandralekha N, Reddy RHR, Badarudeen MN, Burugina SN.., | Daily monitoring of diabetic treatment amongst TB-DM patients under NTEP: Does it improve the treatment outcomes? | .International | Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health | Scopus, web of science, emerging sources citation index, and embase | 2022 | Vol. 17, 101118 |
| 11. | Dr Lavadi R, Dr Mangala Subramanian, Dr Lavadi R | A study on internet addiction among among medical students in a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore, India | International | Int J Community Med Public Health | Index medicus for south east asia | 2021 | Vol.8: 2995-8 |
| 12. | Dr Indumathi K, Dr Mangalal Subramanian, | Effectiveness of Information Education Communication on Drug Compliance among hypertensives in rural field practice area of Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre Bengaluru | National | Ann Community Health | Directory of open access journals | 2021 | Vol.9(1): 131-135. |
| 13. | Dr C Pradeep, Dr B M Nivedita, Dr B M Nivedita | A Study on Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Medical Ethics among Interns and Post graduates in Medical College, Bengaluru.. | National | Paripex-Indian Journal of Research | Index copernicus, pubmed | May 2019 | Vol.8(5):22-23 |
| 14. | Dr Mayani Nivedta B, Dr Pradeep C, | A cross-sectional study on preference of tubectomy over vasectomy among eligible couples in Bengaluru, Karnataka. | International | Int J Community Med Public Health | Index copernicus, index medicus, pubmed | 2020 | Vol.7(1):269-273 |
| 15. | Dr C Pradeep, Dr B M Nivedita | An observational study on study skills among medical undergraduates, Bengaluru | National | Annals of Community Health | Directory of open access journals,index medicus | Sep 2021 | Vol.9(3):125-128 |
| 16. | Dr A Anurag, Dr M Shilpa, Dr Shilpa | Assessment of adherence to therapeutic regimen and lifestyle modification among patients with cardiovascular disease. | National | Annals of Community Health | Directory of open access journals,index medicus | March 2021 | 5455 eISSN 2341-5714 VOLUME 9 Pages: 244-47 |
| 17. | Dr S Hemavarneshwari, Dr Rizwana B Shaikh | Strategy to Sensitize Private Practitioners on RNTCP through Medico-Social Workers in Urban Field Practice Area of a Medical College in Bengaluru, Karnataka | National | Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. | Pubmed | Apr 2019 | Vol.66:253-258 |
| 18. | Hemavarneshwari, Snigdha R, Deeksha C,Chandana Hari, | Assessment of insomnia during COVID pandamic:A study among general population. | International | Int J of Dental and medical sciences Research | Pubmed Directory of open access journals | Oct 2022 | Vol.4(5):543-54 |
| 19. | Dr Vindhya. P, Dr Acharya S | Knowledge ,attitude and practices among diabetic patients visiting a tertiary care hospital in Bangalore, Karmataka | Internatioinal | Int J Community Med Public health | Index copernicus,index medicus | Aug 2020 | Vol.7(8):3100-4 |
| 20. | Dr Padmaja R Walvekar, Dr Bhuvana Gajula | A study on maternal body weight as a predictor od birth weight of newborn | Internatioinal | International Journal of community medicine and public health | Index copernicus,google scholar | sept-oct 2020 | Vol.6(4): 1360-1363 |
| 21. | Raghuveer P, Haleema M. | Perceived social support among pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic of a tertiary care hospital. | International | Index Copernicus, PubMed Central, SCOPUS, Web of Science, DOAJ | Journal of education and health promotion | 2023 | Vol.12(1):88 |
| 22. | Mandal A, Subramanian M Reddy SS, Gouda N | Elder Abuse and its association with mental well-being and the associated socio-demographic factors – A community based Cross-sectional study in Bengaluru, India | International | Index Copernicus,Google Scholar | Natl journal of community med | Oct.2023 | Vol.14(10): 635-42 |
| 23. | Nirgude AS, Haleema M. | Epidemiological Profile of Unintentional Childhood Injuries in Urban Area of Mangaluru Taluk, Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka State, India | National | Scopus , Google scholar | National journal of community medicine. | 2024 February; | Vol. 15(2):121-126. |
| 24. | Nithya R, Harshappradha R, Haleema M, Chaitali G. | Opportunistic Screening for Hypertension and Obesity among Patients Attending a Tertiary Care Hospital in Bangalore, India | National | Google scholar, Index copernicus | India. J clin biomed sci | 2024 | Vol. 14(1): 8-12 |
| 25. | Acuth KS, Mangala Subramanian, Pradeep C | Prevalence of Prediabetes and its associated risk factors among people in rural field practice areaof VIMS &RC, Bangalore | International | Index Copernicus, Google Scholar | Int j community med public health | 2024 | Vol. 14(1):1-5 |
Undergraduate Training program
Training in Community Medicine begins from the very first year of MBBS and is a subject for all medical students till they finish their internship. The course is taught through theory classes, practical classes, small group discussions, Self-directed learning, Family Adoption Programme, Clinico -social case study, field visits, project work, seminars and tutorials. Importance is given to participatory learning. During family study and field visits, students are taken to the community where they interact with the people to try and understand their health issues at the grass root level and the factors that have contributed to the same
Specialist Health Camps
The college conducts specialist health camps on regular basis in its surrounding villages and urban slums. Fortnightly camps are conducted at Kannamangala, where in on an average 200 patients are seen by the specialists of various departments in each visit. These patients are given free treatment and referral cases are treated free of cost at Vydehi Hospital. Camps are also conducted in other villages covering radius of up to 30 kilometres.
Post Graduate teaching
Postgraduate teaching in Research Methodology and Biostatistics is provided to the post graduate students of the institution. Post graduate training in Community Medicine has started since June 2008. There are regular seminars, journal club meetings, case presentations and family health studies every week. The post graduates are also posted to the Rural Health Training centres and the Urban Health Training Centre and other peripheral postings. They are also involved in the planning and organization of the health camps, field visits, National and School health programmes.
Kannamangala RHTC lab is Accreditated by National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)
