Papers by Dr. Alaka O Chandak
Journal of Health Research, 2021
PurposeThe substantial increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is considered a major threat ... more PurposeThe substantial increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is considered a major threat to developing countries. According to various international organizations and researchers, Kerala is reputed to have the best health system in India. However, many economists and health-care experts have discussed the risks embedded in the asymmetrical developmental pattern of the state, considering its high health-care and human development index and low economic growth. This study, a scoping review, aims to explore four major health economic issues related to the Kerala health system.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature was performed using PRISMA to facilitate selection, sampling and analysis. Qualitative data were collected for thematic content analysis.FindingsChronic diseases in a significant proportion of the population, low compliance with emergency medical systems, high health-care costs and poor health insurance coverage were observed in the Kerala co...
International Journal of Public Health Science, Mar 1, 2023
COVID-19 has provided an unprecedented opportunity to expand access and coverage to the country's... more COVID-19 has provided an unprecedented opportunity to expand access and coverage to the country's healthcare system via telehealth. Because of the growing need for telemedicine by healthcare providers, the Medical Council of India issued Practice Guidelines in March 2020. Medical specialties like ophthalmology, dermatology, and neurology offered telehealth services during pandemics. Low-middle-income countries like India are highly dependent on out-of-pocket expenses for health services. Thus, there is a need to understand telehealth's accessibility, feasibility and affordability. This review aims to understand trends regarding the access and patient response to telehealth in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. We reviewed published papers to understand better accessibility and patient response to the healthcare delivery systems via telehealth in India. The results of this review showed that patients were satisfied with the use of telehealth. Healthcare providers and patients believe telehealth can be suitable for various healthcare services, including follow-up visits in clinical disciplines and minor health problems. In conclusion, for Telehealth to understand further, quality evidence must be available, and its role in developing integrated parts of the healthcare system to be defined.
Journal of Stroke Medicine
Time management is critical during the acute stage of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and stroke. T... more Time management is critical during the acute stage of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and stroke. To understand the segments of delays and underlying factors which affect the delay, we conducted a questionnaire survey utilizing the segments of delays model, which is still in progress to reach a higher sample size. Variables, including socio-demographic characteristics, diagnosis, symptoms and severity, awareness, and past medical history, are included in the survey. Descriptive analysis and mapping of the delays were conducted to understand the study’s early findings. A comparison of delays during ACS and stroke shows a higher delay in stroke, especially during decision-making of the victim or family members to seek treatment. Also, the socioeconomic difference between ACS and stroke and the severity of symptoms in stroke are associated with delay.
Journal of Physician Assistant Education
Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care... more Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC) for 23,782 students and employees) has resulted in efficient data management & information dissemination without errors & delay during hospitalization. The EHR [1] was evaluated by healthcare & paramedical staff for Use & Outcome. The Use is studied for ease of use, security, flexibility, reliability, efficiency, service response, technical support, ability to make changes and overall satisfaction. Outcome was evaluated in terms of reduced human errors, workload of doctors, time saved in data management, automated reports generation & independent data submission. The experience of using the system for 6 months had a composite score for logistic use and outcome were 63.6 % and 60.4 % respectively. It assists in reducing turnaround time (TAT), decision making, medical audit, faster processing of insurance claims, improved time saving, reduced errors & effective data flow that eased health insurance system.
Objective: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and behavior (... more Objective: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and behavior (KAPB) regarding blood donation amongst students of higher educational institutes (HEIs) Method & Results: 7281 students from Higher Educational Institute in India were interviewed. Of these, 4667 (64.1%) had adequate (average and above average) knowledge of blood donation. Overall knowledge was better among male participants. From the sample, 2592 (35.6%) students had donated blood at least once while 4689 (64.4%) participants had never done so. From those who had not donated blood, 1841 (39.3%) did not do so due to lack of opportunity whereas 1630 (34.7%) did not have information regarding the same. Conclusion: The current study used the largest number of participants as sample, which also included international students. This study will help stakeholders in designing strategies to encourage non-donors to donate blood and the donors to donate on a regular basis.
Emergency Care Journal
To review various literature related to emergency healthcarerelated delays and synthesize a conce... more To review various literature related to emergency healthcarerelated delays and synthesize a conceptual framework for future research. Critical Interpretative Synthesis is employed to analyze and develop themes from selected articles. A total of 25 articles were selected for analysis after the careful selection process. Diseases including acute heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, infections, and gastrointestinal disorders were included. During analysis, three major phases of delays emerged: pre-hospital delay, inhospital delay, and ambulance off-load delay. Various factors, including socioeconomic factors, health system factors, organizational level factors, etc., are related to delays in emergency care settings. The model evolved from this literature analysis is similar to the 3 delays model. This review identified three significant delay segments related to emergency health care management.
Journal of Stroke Medicine, 2022
Early treatment seeking during a stroke or heart attack is critical to prevent mortality and disa... more Early treatment seeking during a stroke or heart attack is critical to prevent mortality and disability. This study has aimed to understand the perceptions of health-care experts in the state regarding the “emergency healthcare-seeking behavior of Kerala population during an acute stroke or heart attack.” An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was utilized in the study. Semi-structured interviews with health-care experts were conducted, and the data were analyzed linguistically. Later, interpretations were made based on the themes and literature review. We interviewed 7 health experts, and data were analyzed using the IPA method. Major concerns raised by the health experts include health financing issues, the disparity in treatment-seeking response based on socioeconomic status, less awareness regarding stroke in public, and so on.
Online Journal of Health & Allied Sciences, 2019
Objective: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and behavior (... more Objective: This study was carried out to assess the knowledge, attitude, practice, and behavior (KAPB) regarding blood donation amongst students of higher educational institutes (HEIs) Method & Results: 7281 students from Higher Educational Institute in India were interviewed. Of these, 4667 (64.1%) had adequate (average and above average) knowledge of blood donation. Overall knowledge was better among male participants. From the sample, 2592 (35.6%) students had donated blood at least once while 4689 (64.4%) participants had never done so. From those who had not donated blood, 1841 (39.3%) did not do so due to lack of opportunity whereas 1630 (34.7%) did not have information regarding the same. Conclusion: The current study used the largest number of participants as sample, which also included international students. This study will help stakeholders in designing strategies to encourage non-donors to donate blood and the donors to donate on a regular basis.
Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 2019
Method: An e-questionnaire including consent was circulated using Google form to the doctors, hea... more Method: An e-questionnaire including consent was circulated using Google form to the doctors, healthcare administrators & beneficiary to record their experiences & perceptions on EMR. Result: 85% doctors agreed EMR resulted in a reduction in errors while maintaining data, 100% doctors mentioned the use of EMR improved data management & report generation. 98% healthcare administrators were satisfied with the efficiency of the software, 100% administrators agreed that EMR improved coordination with beneficiaries. 74% beneficiaries wanted to receive their health information through electronic mode (i.e. 67% beneficiaries wanted to receive health information on email, 5% through portal & 2% through a mobile application) and 90% beneficiaries reported that health information to be easily and readily available and accessible due to EMR. Conclusion: EMR is easily accessible and effective for maintenance of health information of beneficiaries at the university health centre. The enablers for the technology outweighs the disablers for the EMR. With regular training of the users & creating awareness amongst the beneficiaries, the effectiveness of the use of EMR can be improved further at the university health centre.
Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development, 2017
The annual health checkup programme is important for primary care and important concern for the h... more The annual health checkup programme is important for primary care and important concern for the healthcare professional to promote health. Health promotion professionals in higher education practice a process of prevention. To engage students in health promotion is the challenge for healthcare professionals in India. Formal evaluation of patient satisfaction should be a part of college health services as it is unclear whether the issue is being addressed in college health clinics. Hence, we conducted the study to understand students’ perception from last three academic (2014–2017) years towards annual health check-up program and its aspects of conduct.
Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care... more Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC) for 23,782 students and employees) has resulted in efficient data management & information dissemination without errors & delay during hospitalization. The EHR [1] was evaluated by healthcare & paramedical staff for Use & Outcome. The Use is studied for ease of use, security, flexibility, reliability, efficiency, service response, technical support, ability to make changes and overall satisfaction. Outcome was evaluated in terms of reduced human errors, workload of doctors, time saved in data management, automated reports generation & independent data submission. The experience of using the system for 6 months had a composite score for logistic use and outcome were 63.6 % and 60.4 % respectively. It assists in reducing turnaround time (TAT), decision making, medical audit, faster processing of insurance claims, improved time saving, reduced errors & effective data flow that eased...
Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care... more Effective use of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) applications by Symbiosis Centre of Health Care (SCHC) for 23,782 students and employees) has resulted in efficient data management & information dissemination without errors & delay during hospitalization. The EHR [1] was evaluated by healthcare & paramedical staff for Use & Outcome. The Use is studied for ease of use, security, flexibility, reliability, efficiency, service response, technical support, ability to make changes and overall satisfaction. Outcome was evaluated in terms of reduced human errors, workload of doctors, time saved in data management, automated reports generation & independent data submission. The experience of using the system for 6 months had a composite score for logistic use and outcome were 63.6 % and 60.4 % respectively. It assists in reducing turnaround time (TAT), decision making, medical audit, faster processing of insurance claims, improved time saving, reduced errors & effective data flow that eased...
Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development
Journal of Health Research, 2021
PurposeThe substantial increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is considered a major threat ... more PurposeThe substantial increase in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is considered a major threat to developing countries. According to various international organizations and researchers, Kerala is reputed to have the best health system in India. However, many economists and health-care experts have discussed the risks embedded in the asymmetrical developmental pattern of the state, considering its high health-care and human development index and low economic growth. This study, a scoping review, aims to explore four major health economic issues related to the Kerala health system.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of the literature was performed using PRISMA to facilitate selection, sampling and analysis. Qualitative data were collected for thematic content analysis.FindingsChronic diseases in a significant proportion of the population, low compliance with emergency medical systems, high health-care costs and poor health insurance coverage were observed in the Kerala co...
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Papers by Dr. Alaka O Chandak