1 Integrating Mental Health into Primary Health Care
Mental Health has been integrated into primary health care in 27 PHCs of Karnataka. Psychiatric treatment is being provided to the rural community. This is a model to showcase mainstreaming of mental health into primary health. This intervention is supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust.
2. Mobile Dental Health
Karuna Trust has taken dental care to the villages & PHCs through Mobile Dental Health model. It is now accessible to the poor and needy in Yelandur and T. Narasipura Taluks. The PHC adopted by Karuna Trust at Gumballi has a mobile dental clinic equipped with all the necessary instruments and a dedicated team that visits remote villages in the range of 800 Kms in and around Yelandur and T. Narasipura Taluks on previously designated days and treats patients free of cost.
The dental van covers eight PHCs twice a month apart from a tribal clinic at BR Hills and some tribal villages providing fillings, tooth extractions, composite restorations, and root canal treatment.
3 Tele Medicine and Communication Technologies for Health Care -ISRO -VSAT Technology
Karuna Trust acts as a facilitating organization to promote and share knowledge on issues of development, livelihood and education to people living in rural areas through the Village Resource Centre. The organization has one Resource Centre at Mysore and 18 student sites located in rural areas in different districts of Karnataka. Information on weather, soil, water, agriculture, etc are disseminated through this programme.
Assessment of mHealth Intervention
Harvard Institute for Global Health, South Asia Initiative, has launched a study to assess the impact of a mHealth intervention on adherence to antenatal care appointments and infant vaccinations in a population served by NGOs in primary health Centres in rural Karnataka, India. Secondary aim is to explore possibility of deployment of this technology in other areas of health care delivery and treatments. Karuna Trust has been selected for this study as we are extensively serving the rural population.
4.Management of Non-communicable Diseases
Hypertension, Cardio-Vascular diseases and Diabetes clinic are held at Gumballi PHC on second & fourth Sundays of every month. It caters to the people of Yelandur, Kollegal, Chamarajanagar, Gundlupet Taluks and Mysore rural areas. Consultation is provided by Senior Radiologist cum Physician,Y.N.I.Anand who has served in the Indian Army. Medicines are prescribed at no profit and no loss rate.
5 Mainstreaming Traditional Medicine (AYUSH)
The integration of traditional medicine into the PHC network is an effective method to deliver the concept to the people. Karuna Trust has utilized the PHCs it is running in Karnataka to mainstream traditional medicine, and currently 20 PHCs and five government Ayurvedic dispensaries are actively offering traditional medicine as an option to its patients. Training programs have also been conducted for PHC staff in order to orient them to the uses and value of traditional medicine, as also SHG members, who have been trained in the use of traditional medicine at the household level for common illnesses.
6) Emergency Medical Services
Karuna Trust’s initiative is to improve management of emergency cases at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in Karnataka. The “Primary Emergency Care” initiative includes wall posters, an Emergency Toolkit, an Emergency Drug box. Training sessions and refresher courses are conducted to the health staff. The goal is to decrease morbidity and mortality at the PHC level by standardizing management of emergency patients through simple yet effective interventions.
7 Promotion of Quality low -cost generic drug &Rational drug Use
Karuna Trust stocks and distributes good quality, low cost generic drugs from LOCOST, a voluntary organization. This is a novel initiative to provide high quality drugs at low cost to the PHCs managed by Karuna Trust.
8 Management of Communication disorders in PHC in collaboration with AIISH
Communication Disorder has been integrated as part of Primary Healthcare by Karuna Trust. Evaluation process of rehabilitation and its efficacy for prevention of communication disorder in three outreach service centres at three PHCs: Akkihabbalu in Mandya, Hullahalli in Mysore and Gumballi in Chamarajanagar Districts was initiated. The activities of Material Development, Selection of Volunteers, Orientation are the activities carried out at the service centres.