Excelsior Correspondent
UDHAMPUR, Sept 3: With an aim to highlight the rural-urban differentials with respect to healthcare as a potent factor responsible for the surge of Cardiovascular diseases in the rural areas, Dr. Sushil Sharma, HoD Cardiology, GMC Jammu conducted a day long camp at Latti in Udhampur district.
More than 600 patients were examined, evaluated and screened for health related problems and free medicines were distributed as required. He cited affordability, accessibility and availability as the prime barrier for the current shortfall of healthcare in rural societies.
“Accessibility to rural and remote communities is affected by the physical topography creating difficulties for transportation, at times complicated by varying climatic conditions. Consequently, in some areas, at least some of the time, there is no means of transportation, and evacuation of critically ill or injured patients is impossible. Most notably, majority of the rural people lives below the poverty line and they are not capable of affording the expenses on medical needs. All of these issues are accentuated in the context of often serious shortages of doctors, nurses and other health service providers in rural and remote areas. Sustainability of these services is dependent on adequate health service infrastructure and availability of specialist support”, he added.
While interacting with the patients, he said it has been observed that people in rural areas are adopting urban lifestyles without migration to urban areas. Although the coronary artery disease rates are lower in rural than urban areas, the overall CAD burden is higher in rural areas. Recent studies revealed prevalence of modifiable risk factors in rural areas which indicated that the epidemic of CAD would soon expand to rural India viz, tobacco use, low fruit and vegetable intake, dyslipidemia (cholesterol problems), high blood pressure, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity. However, the problem of under nutrition and over nutrition coexist in rural areas,” he added.
Others who were part of the camp included Dr. Fareed Malik (Orthopedic Surgeon), Dr Nusrat Kreem Bhat, Dr. Akhil Gupta and Dr. Kewal Sharma. Paramedics and volunteers included Kamal Sharma, Kashmiri Lal, Raghav Rajput, Asgar Malik (Pharmacist) Gourav Sharma, Vikas Kumar, Aman Gupta, Suresh Baigra, Rajinder Singh, Shanail Gupta and Raj Kumar.
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