Department of Community Medicine at KJSMC Private Medical Colleges in Mumbai

Department of Community Medicine

About

Community Medicine is an Interdisciplinary branch of medicine that focuses on the patient as a whole keeping in mind that several factors influence their health. It aims not only to cure the patient but prevent diseases and promote health. Range of healthcare services and linkages with other organizations is established to reduce health disparities, address social problems and ensure health equity. Community Medicine specialists are post graduates (MD) with core competencies in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Planning and Evaluation, Management of healthcare organizations, Environmental and Occupational health. They apply knowledge and skills gained from medical, social, economic and behavioural sciences for betterment of health of individuals, family and community.

Teaching Activity

The Department of Community Medicine trains undergraduate medical students using hospital and community settings to function as first-level physicians in the community.

The objective of training in community medicine is to equip the medical graduates with skills to identify the environmental determinants of health and disease; think epidemiologically, apply clinical skills to diagnose, and treat common health problems comprehensively. The undergraduate medical students are exposed to the community right from first year through its family adoption programme.

Students adopt families and follow up with them for a period of three years. The community exposure and interactions with the families help the student in understanding the various environmental, socio-cultural factors that influence the health and health seeking behaviour of the individual and the family.

The Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC) and Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC) of the department provides an opportunity for the students to learn about promotive and preventive health care.

Hospital Services

The Department of Community Medicine provides health care services primarily in its adopted urban and rural field practice area through its health centres. At the hospital, we run immunisation services. In collaboration with the Paediatrics department, immunisation services are provided to children through its biweekly clinic.

For the newborns the immunisation services are provided in the wards on weekdays. In collaboration with the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department, immunisation services are provided to pregnant women.

Any other

Urban Health Training Centre(UHTC):

Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC) is located in the urban slum of Vidyavihar 6.5 kilometres from K.J.Somaiya Medical College. It was established for training undergraduate medical students in community settings. It aims to improve health by providing services, promoting healthy practices and health seeking behaviours in the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged section of the community. The UHTC provides holistic health services within easy reach to an approximate 74150 population.

Services Provided

General OPD services daily.
Specialist services - Gynaecology, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, ENT, Orthopedics ,Physiotherapy and Dental OPD on a weekly basis.
Laboratory services at a subsidised rate.
A weekly non-communicable disease (NCD) clinic for hypertensive and diabetic patients where medicines are provided at a highly subsidised rate.
A special clinic for children below 5 years of age (Under 5 clinic) every week where a package of preventive, promotive and curative services are provided to the children below 6 years of age.
Wellness of Women (WOW) clinic exclusively for the women—a one stop clinic that centres around the health and quality care of women.
Common cancers (breast, cervical and oral ), diabetes and high blood pressure screening of the target population (age 30 years and above at the UHTC/ suitable sites in the community respectively.)
A weekly satellite clinic inside Vidyavihar campus.
Beneficiaries of under five clinic, antenatal clinic and wellness of women clinic, NCD clinic are followed up through home visits or through telephonic call.
For ensuring full spectrum of immunisation services to pregnant women and children upto 5 years of age reminder telephone calls are made.
Health awareness sessions for different age groups on various topics and observation of special health days of public health importance like World Health Day, World TB Day, World Breastfeeding Week, International Yoga Day, World HIV-AIDS day, etc.

RURAL HEALTH TRAINING CENTRE:

The Primary Health Centre (PHC) of Angaon (in Bhiwandi taluka of Thane district) is the Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC) of the Department of Community Medicine.It is located 50 kms away from the Medical College in Angaon village. It has residential accommodation for interns who are posted there for two months during compulsory internship training. The five villages under Angaon sub centre – Angaon, Nivali, Pundas, Kawad and Sontakke have been selected for focussed community outreach activities by the Department.

Services Provided

OPD services are provided in the morning 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and evening from 4:00 pm to 6 pm. Complicated cases are referred to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital which is a district level hospital located in Bhiwandi.
ANC clinic is conducted on every Wednesday and on the 9th of every month a special ANC clinic under the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Yojana is conducted.
Immunisation session at PHC is conducted once in a month on the 4th Thursday.
Wellness of Women Clinic is conducted weekly on Tuesday.
Adolescent girls and boys (11 to 19 years) are empowered with correct knowledge and attitude towards various issues related to family life and reproductive health.(Somaiya's Project of Adolescent and Reproductive and Sexual Health (SPARSH))
A health education programme on nutrition; harmful effects of tobacco use and its prevention; and prevention of HIV/AIDS for VI, VII, VIII and IXth standard respectively. (School Health Education Program of Somaiya (SHEPS))
Knowledge about Personal and Environmental hygiene, Menstrual hygiene, Nutrition, Diarrhoea, Immunization, is imparted to the community through training school children.The programme is conducted for children of standard V and VI in adopted schools of rural and urban field practice area.(Child to Child and Community Training Program (C3 program) )