Tribal Health – A Neglected Domain in Public Health (17th March, 2021)

48th Annual Conference of Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSMCON 2021)
A pre-conference CME on Tribal Health and research avenues in tribal health was organised under the auspices of IAPSM on 17th of March, 2021. Dr. Surya Bali, Additional Professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal acted as the host and convener for the CME. Dr. Samiran Bisai, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Tribal Studies, Sidho-Kanho-Birsha University, Purulia, West Bengal and Dr. Anirban Chatterjee, Senior Resident, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal were co-conveners.
The CME was initiated by Dr. Bali who informed the attendees on the need to focus on tribal health research by highlighting the health disparities and inequities they suffer from. This session was followed by a session on ethnomedicine and its implications for medical researchers by Dr. Swapan Kolay, Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology & Tribal Studies, Bastar University, Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. Dr. Priyesh Marskole, Associate Professor, General Medical College, Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh informed us about the specific problems facing tribal women today. Dr. Aditya Thakur, Associate Professor, NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh spoke on the impact of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases on tribal communities while Dr. Neelam Toppo, Professor, NSCB Medical College, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh informed us about the neglected burden of NCDs in tribal populations.
Dr. Pallavi Boro, Assistant Professor, TRIHMS, Arunachal Pradesh emphasised on the need to identify and acknowledge traditional systems of healthcare and medicine while designing research proposals, a point which was highlighted by Dr. Anirban while he elaborated on the avenues of operational and systems research with focus on tribal health. Dr. Anirban also provided insights into the various domains within which operational and systems research can be carried out.
Dr. Samiran Bisai followed through with vital information on the various sources of potential funding which can be tapped while planning research on tribal health. The last session was conducted by Dr. Surya Bali on the need to emphasise on tribal health as a separate section in medical pedagogy and the need to decolonise our gaze while working with tribal populations. There was a discussion session for half an hour in the end, which witnessed animated discussions between few of the participants and the resource persons. The session was ended by Dr. Surya Bali and Dr. Anirban with a vote of thanks.
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