Affordable Quality Health (AQH), under which InOrder is established, represented in the 69th Annual Conference (IPHACON 2025) organized by the Indian Public Health Association at the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), Belagavi, Karnataka, from 21st to 23rd March 2025.
This year’s conference was themed around innovative approaches, addressing existing challenges, engaging in health diplomacy, and envisioning future directions for health systems.
The AQH team participated in the research presentations as well as in the pre-conference workshops. Additionally, the team was engaged in discussions and presentations on various topics, such as tribal health, noncommunicable diseases, and public health in India.
Alongside attending sessions and research presentations, the team was actively involved in networking and discussions with stakeholders from different organizations like WHO, UNICEF, The George Institute of Public Health, NHSRC, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College (JNMC), and Manipal Academy of Higher Education. These engagements were beneficial in understanding public health initiatives and collaboration possibilities.
Tribal Health session:
AQH was invited for presenting ongoing work in tribal health domain, where Dr. Shrikant Kalaskar, Technical Health – Public health presented as a resource person on “Strengthening Primary Health Care in Tribal Districts of Telangana through Participatory Action Research: Methodology and Challenges” supported by Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation (VCF) in a session on “Closing the Inequities: A Deep Dive into the Tribal Health Status of India After Seven Decades of Independence” On day one of the conference in a parallel session.
Oral presentations:
Four abstracts were selected for oral presentations from the strengthening primary healthcare through participatory action research, which team members have presented in a scientific session covering methodology and challenges in tribal health.
Sushma Dsouza have highlighted Effect of Various Determinants onthe Health-Seeking Behavior of Tribal Communities in Telangana in her presentation. She discussed in detail methodology and expected outcome of the community survey being carried out among tribal communities.
While Dr. Chilshu Chandran has presented Participatory Action Research Approach: A Study to Understand the Determinants of Health-Seeking Behavior Among Tribal and Rural Communities in Telangana”. She discussed the importance of participatory action research (PAR) methods and PAR methods adopted in the project.
Bhavani Silamkoti discussed on Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing Participatory Action Research in Tribal Communities in Telangana through her on ground experience. She highlighted on conditions with which the study is being conducted along with various challenges and opportunities while conducting participatory action research in tribal communities.
Dr. Soujanya Rapeti shared her experience while collecting data on the field on Assessing Social Determinants of Health in Tribal Communities in Telangana: Challenges and Vulnerabilities. The presentation was focused on the challenges and vulnerabilities of the tribal communities.
Colleagues from Vijayavahini Charitable Foundation (VCF) Col. Dr. M.P. Cariappa and Ms. Athira and Dr. Kapil Sharma from Indigenous Development Organisation – I DO have also attended the conference from the project.
Dr. Chilshu also presented a poster “Reimagining NCD Care in Bhutan: Understanding Training Needs and Challenges”.
Participation in IPHACON 2025 was an invaluable opportunity for skill enhancement, knowledge exchange, and professional networking. Through pre-conference workshops, the team members strengthened their public health research skills. Oral presentations in scientific sessions provided the opportunity to the team to share their ongoing work on tribal health and participatory action research, contributing to critical discussions and recommendations on the tribal health research. Engaging with key stakeholders encouraged potential collaborations for future research focusing on solving the issues of tribal populations in Telangana.