In a major boost to healthcare services at the grassroot level, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is all set to establish a model rural health research unit (MRHRU) at Tigiria in Cuttack district.
The State Government has given its approval for setting up the health research unit at the community health centre (CHC), Tigiria. The unit to be mentored by the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar will not only conduct health and epidemiological research but also act as the gateway for smooth technology transfer to the lowest level of the health services delivery systems in the State.
Work on the MRHRU, which would be set up at a cost of ` 5.25 crore, will commence as soon as the agreement between the State Government and ICMR is signed. The State Government, in fact, had last year proposed to the Centre for establishment of seven MRHRUs in Odisha under the national scheme being implemented by Department of Health Research under the Health and Family Welfare Ministry.
The driving objective of the scheme is to identify health and epidemiological patterns of a particular region so as to enable directed healthcare intervention to counter the problems.
The studies will help in upgradation of healthcare institutions at the lowest levels of the region and equipping them with required infrastructure, diagnostic and treatment facilities.
The MRHRU scheme had been piloted by ICMR at Ghatampur in Uttar Pradesh with significant success. It demonstrated how appropriate and latest medical technology and research can be extended to the grassroots to benefit the people living in far off rural pockets.
Equipping the healthcare facilities on the basis of the disease and health patterns of the regions will not only lead to better treatment but also save the whole lot of the people the trouble and the costs of travelling to referral centres in the towns and cities.
The units will develop area-specific research models taking into account the disease and health profiles, morbidity patterns, topography and climate, societal and behavioural aspects of the population.
