Lifestyle diseases survey on the anvil

Kozhikode: A meeting of Panchayat officials and health standing committee chairpersons from the southern districts was convened on Thursday to discuss the prospects of the Health Department’s survey on lifestyle diseases. This was the second meeting after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan inaugurated the project on August 30 in Thiruvananthapuram. The third and final meeting of this season including northern districts will be held on October 17 at the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), Thrissur.

The technical input for the survey is being provided by Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Thiruvananthapuram. “In the first phase, 400 selected panchayats will be given an orientation on selected lifestyle diseases including tobacco and alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and unhealthy diet. Twenty-five schools each from the 14 districts have also been selected for training. In total 1,050 teachers are also supporting this survey,” said head of the department of SCT public health Dr K.R. Thankappan.

This is the first time that the state is initiating a survey on the impact of lifestyle diseases on the people here. The programme was officially inaugurated by the Chief Minister in SCTIMST. The first phase of the survey in panchayats would conclude by April 2017, said Dr Thankappan.Till date, 250 panchayats in the list were covered, he said and added that though the number of lifestyle diseases increased in the state, there was no proper study till date.  Apart from panchayat officials, two district-level officers under the District Medical Officers, are also monitoring the survey, which sources the material needed for the teachers.