Health policy to promote research

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new people’s health policy being framed by LDF Government will lay emphasis on promoting research work among doctors. During the discussions to be held over the next two months, the panel will be exploring the possibilities of popularising research activities among serving doctors. The high level committee will be coming out with a series of recommendations to the government on making research activities lucrative, improving research environment, infrastructure facilities in medical institutions besides providing adequate financial support and incentives to researchers.

Besides medical colleges, the focus will also be on social health research. Though the MCI had made publication of research papers mandatory for promotion posts, the government often grants relaxation. The committee is aware of the poor research activities in existing medical colleges. The State Board for Medical Research which has more than '1.5 crore annual budgets for research activities is not receiving enough proposals from medical college doctors.

Experts say Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Science and Technology (SCTIMST) had conducted a study of 360 research papers between 1989-94 . Of these 180 were from SCTIMST, 60 from Regional Cancer Centre, 50 from private medical colleges like Amala Cancer Centre and less than 50 from the five medical colleges.  There is no change in the situation even now, they point out.

There was a slight improvement in research activities after the government ban on private practice by medical college doctors. The Institutional Research Committee of Trivandrum Medical College had shortlisted as many as 54 projects in 2012. But later there was a slump in research activities. The health policy will create an environment to facilitate research activities and ensure that State Board for Medical Research (SBMR) is able to attract more research proposals from the doctors especially those working in the government medical colleges. The new policy will also encourage clinical research, trials at clinical level, studies on risk factors of various diseases and community based research activities.