Browsing by Author "Sanghamitra Pati"

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    Actor-doctor partnership for theatre-based public health education
    (Health Educ. J., 2021) Kartik Sharma; Shivani Mathur Gaiha; Sanghamitra Pati; Mallika Sarabhai
    Background: Limited evidence exists on the effectiveness of using an entertainment-education methodology to address multiple public health issues and of using participatory street theatre to improve public understanding related to public health. Objective: To assess the feasibility, acceptability and impact of the Actor-Doctor project, an intervention involving theatre professionals and medical specialists to jointly deliver street-theatre-based public health education. Design: A real-world, mixed-methods post-intervention study evaluated the Actor-Doctor project among 486 participants in Ahmedabad, India, in 2017. Setting and method: Focus group discussions with actors and semi-structured interviews with doctors and implementers assessed project feasibility, acceptability and perceived impact. Post-intervention surveys among actors, audience and a control group assessed impact on knowledge and attitudes related to select public health issues. Quantitative data were analysed using multivariable regression, and qualitative data were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis. Results: The Actor-Doctor project was feasible to implement, as 20 street theatre performances on five public health themes were developed and staged. Members of the audience showed higher knowledge of environmental health, anaemia and openness to discussing sexual health issues, compared to a control group (omega squared 0.03-0.24;p < .001). Actors and doctors collaborating to create theatre-based public health education derived satisfaction from the project. Balancing scientific accuracy and entertainment, especially humour was challenging. Conclusion: The Actor-Doctor project was instrumental in improving public-health-related engagement between actors, doctors and the public.
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    Addressing barriers to mental healthcare access for adolescents living in slums: A qualitative multi-stakeholder study in Odisha, India
    (Child. Youth Serv. Rev., 2023) Pallavi Behera; Jayashree Parida; Narendra Kakade; Sanghamitra Pati; Subhendu Kumar Acharya
    Background: The burden of mental health problems is a leading issue in India, particularly among adolescents. According to the National Mental Health survey, 2016, the prevalence of mental health problems among the age group of 13-17 years is 7.3 % and the case is the same for both genders. It has also been stated that the prevalence rate is higher among urban adolescents compared to rural ones. Adolescent mental healthcare is a neglected area in Indian society as a result it influences mental healthcare access in India. The present study, therefore, aims to provide an amalgamated overview of the adolescent mental healthcare policies and programs in India and also to find out the challenges and barriers faced by the stakeholders with respect to delivery and access to adolescent mental healthcare.Methods: To identify the challenges in the implementation of the policies, the thematic framework analysis was used to address the issues pertaining to the delivery and access to mental healthcare. The study involved the stakeholders including healthcare providers (n = 8): non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government stakeholders and adolescents (beneficiaries or service users) (n = 25) and their parents (n = 6).Results: The results indicated that there was a gap with respect to awareness and knowledge about mental health and healthcare-related access and delivery among the selected stakeholders. Stigmatization and social distance behaviors were the major prevailing factors among the adolescent participants which influenced their careseeking behavior and decision-making approach. From program and policy point of view, the key challenges affecting the successful implementation of mental health policies and programs were the lack of collaboration among the stakeholders, funding and logical constraints, scarcity of staff at the facility level, and lack of skills and knowledge among the staff.Conclusion: An integrated and multisectoral approach in adolescent mental healthcare policies and programmes is the need of the time to address the key challenges to mental healthcare access and delivery. Focused intervention is required to reduce the stigma and social distance behaviour among adolescent beneficiaries.