The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, PHFI, Bangalore

January 24 marked the International Day of Education and India’s National Girl Child Day. Both are causes that align closely with our work at the Ramalingaswami Centre.   An issue that brings education and the girl child together is adolescent pregnancy. Teenage mothers are less likely to continue attending school, limiting their ability to reach their full potential. Reducing adolescent fertility is key to helping girls stay in school and pursue better economic opportunities, thus potentially breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty.   The team at the Ramalingaswami Centre has recently been looking into the drivers underlying the significant decline in adolescent fertility rates in India. We are undertaking a multi-method, multi-site study to better understand the policy and programmatic interventions that have made a difference. We hope to shine a light on contextually relevant and feasible pathways that can bring about long-term and sustainable gains for girl children across the country. #nationalgirlchildday #internationaldayofeducation #health #universalhealthcare #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, Public Health Foundation of India, invites you to attend our monthly colloquium series on 29 January 2025, Wednesday, 4 - 5:30 pm. Dr. Swati Santosh Rane, Founder Vice President of the Clinical Nursing Research Society and Founder CEO of Sevashakti Healthcare Consultancy , will speak on the challenges that face the nursing profession – with respect to training, recruitment, employment, workplace dynamics, and more. She will then consider, in view of private and international nursing opportunities, implications for the delivery of healthcare in India. To register for this event, please click on https://bit.ly/4g0x2Kw or scan the QR code on the poster. #nursing #nursesindia #health #universalhealthcare #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

✨ Presenting the Ramalingaswami Centre's Annual Archive - 2024! ✨ Conferences, training programs, colloquiums, publications and media features: 2024 was a year of milestones and progress. As we reflect on a year of learning, growth, and collaboration, we are grateful to everyone who supported our mission and joined us on this journey. Here’s to carrying the momentum into 2025 as we continue working towards a healthier, equitable world! #health #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health (RCESDH) was founded in 2015 as a Center of Excellence at the Public Health Foundation of India. To mark 10 years of the Centre’s efforts to improve the health of India’s population by reducing health inequalities, we are proud to launch our logo, designed in-house by the RCESDH team! It depicts equity and inclusion, and incorporates a sense of dynamism and joy. Keep an eye open for this symbol to keep up with our work on research, training, and knowledge translation on gender and intersectionality in health systems and policy. #health #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

'You cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.' -Rabindranath Tagore. The sea may seem vast, and the journey ahead uncertain, but true transformation begins with a bold decision to move forward, no matter how small the step. As we enter the New Year, let us dare to take that step, and make it a year of courage, perseverance, and above all, peace. Wishing us all a happy 2025, from the team at the Ramalingaswami Centre.

This December, we mark World Human Rights Day on December 10th and Universal Health Coverage Day on December 12th, by highlighting the work of the Centre's founding director, Prof. Gita Sen. Her work on UHC and human rights, particularly through a gender lens, informs on equitable and inclusive health systems worldwide. Read more about her insights here: https://lnkd.in/gvm_4Yci.

The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, Public Health Foundation of India, invites you to attend our monthly colloquium series on 18 December 2024, Wednesday, 4 - 5:30pm.  Aparna Uppaluri, Founder & Principal Advisor, Antara Advisory, will speak on Philanthropy and the Worlds of Evidence: Sifting through power, experience and expertise in public health. In this talk, Aparna will unpack how the ‘hierarchies of evidence' influence philanthropic spending and the public health agenda To register for this event, please click on https://bit.ly/3ZiuwsJ or scan the QR code on the poster. Please share this email widely and mark your calendars for the next Colloquium, scheduled for 22 January, 2025. #philanthropyinhealthcare #philanthrophy #health #universalhealthcare #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

Effective communication is a key element of medical care; it can foster a warm interpersonal relationship, facilitate the exchange of information, and enable shared decision-making. In the context of obstetric care, it is associated with a range of positive clinical and social outcomes for mother and baby. But few studies have examined intrapartum communication in the Indian setting. Based on interviews with providers across different levels of public health facilities in two districts of Karnataka, we identified four types of communication: compassionate, factual, prescriptive, and defensive. Knowledge and power hierarchies operated differently in each type of communication, and did not necessarily serve the goals of communication in a medical interaction. Our findings point to the necessity of integrating an understanding of the ways in which social hierarchies operate in a clinical setting into respectful maternity care guidelines, medical curricula, training programmes, and interventions. #communicationhealth #communication #medicalcommunications #health #universalhealthcare #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall

#PublicationAlert Our paper on Communication and Respectful Maternity Care urging greater attention to knowledge and power hierarchies, and an understanding of the ways in which they operate in a clinical setting - is finally out! Check out our new publication! https://lnkd.in/e3tKXxFP The Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity and Social Determinants of Health, PHFI, Bangalore

On this International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we at the Ramalingaswami Centre on Equity & Social Determinants of Health reaffirm our commitment to addressing systemic disrespect and abuse (D&A) in maternal healthcare. Our quantitative and qualitative research in Southern India has illuminated how socio-economic inequalities and entrenched power hierarchies can lead to violations of women’s dignity and well-being during obstetric care. Translating the learning from this work, the Centre is spearheading the LaQshya Smriti initiative, a pilot project aimed at embedding Respectful Maternity Care within public hospitals in Bengaluru. This project seeks to build on the quality improvements achieved under the government’s LaQshya initiative by prioritising the agency, dignity, rights of mothers during childbirth. This ensures that every mother has a positive childbirth experience, promotes safe motherhood and lays a strong foundation for newborn health. #EndViolenceAgainstWomen #RespectfulMaternityCare #HealthEquity #EndViolence #16Days #NoExcuse #internationaldayfortheeliminationofviolenceagainstwomen #health #universalhealthcare #publichealth #India #rcesdh #phfi #healthequity #researchforchange #empoweringcommunities #healthforall