Department of Public Health
Department of Public Health was established in the year 2013 as a constituent department under K. S. Hegde Medical Academy, Nitte (Deemed to be University). The Department strives to develop competent public health professionals, capable of tackling various public health challenges at both the national and global level. The Department has trained faculty from various disciplines of health sciences with diverse public health career experiences. The Department aims to further technically strengthen itself in terms of a demand-based public health approach such as emerging and re-emerging diseases of the current global public health situations.
For any information regarding the admissions,mail us at: info@nitte.edu.in
Services
The Department takes pride in managing 18 of the 23 Rural Satellite Dental Centres of Nitte (Deemed to be University) which are located in districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chickmagalur and Kodagu. These centres provide a complete spectrum of treatment from Diagnosis to Complete Prosthodontic Rehabilitation with specialty treatment provided at free of cost/ nominal cost.
In addition, the Department organizes and conducts various community oral health programs such as oral screening and dental treatment camps on regular basis in collaboration with NGOs in rural/ semi-urban areas, schools, orphanages, tribal areas and old age homes. As a part of School oral health program, schools are adopted and incremental and comprehensive dental care is provided which includes preventive oral health care services. Oral health care services provided at the dental camps include oral diagnosis, oral health education, tobacco cessation counselling, pit & fissure sealant application, topical fluoride application, oral prophylaxis, extractions and atraumatic restorative treatment. Patients are referred to the Dental College or Rural Health Centres for follow-up or further specialized treatment. The Department also conducts House to House Survey and Assessment of Oral health status of the community. As of September 2024, about 16,86,965 individuals have benefited from the oral health services provided through the rural satellite centres and 4,65,885 have benefited from the outreach programs.
Besides this, the Department also observes days of International or National importance such as World Cancer Day, World Oral Health Day, World Health Day, World No Tobacco Day, National Public Health Dentistry Day, World Environment Day, National Tooth brushing Day, World AIDS day etc. where the faculty and students organize and actively participate in programs to create awareness among the general public regarding maintenance of health and oral health.
Research Thrust Areas
The Department has extensive research experience in tobacco control with its faculty working on projects sponsored by the National Health Mission, and other Non Governmental Organizations in the state of Karnataka. The faculty are also pursuing doctoral programmes in tobacco control.
Geographic Information Systems- enabled study on spatiotemporal pattern of underweight and diarrhoea among under-five children in Karkala Taluk is in progress with a promising outcome towards translational research. This study is also part of the doctoral research of the faculty.
The Department has conducted a state-wide evaluation of infrastructure of special newborn care units (SNCU) managed by the Government hospitals of Karnataka and funded by National Health Mission.
Achievements
- The Department was awarded with the global partner award in the year 2017 by the University of Minnesota, USA, for its achievement in the successful conduct of student exchange programs.
- The faculty of the department, Dr Pratap Kumar Jena and Mr. Mackwin Kenwood D’mello were awarded as emerging young researchers by Asia Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention in the year 2014 and 2017 respectively.
