Sharma Upasana, Desikachari B R, Sarma Sankara
1Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies (AMCHSS), Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences & Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum, 695011 Kerala India.
2Senior Public Health Consultant, Formerly with Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Government of Tamil Nadu, Chennai, India.
Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2019 Jun 24;5:83. doi: 10.1186/s40814-019-0464-z. eCollection 2019.
Religious mass gatherings (MGs) have always been an integral part of our society. At the outset, mass-gathering events provide challenging settings to plan a suitable emergency public health response. Published studies basically talk about retrospective reviews, case studies of the public health preparedness, or health care provided at individual events. Developing an understanding of the variables associated with MGs is the first step for public health managers. Risk assessment (RA) is a crucial part of pre-event planning as it helps foresee potential risks. Based on RA, one can develop preventive measures and ensure that the infrastructure to control the potential problems is in place. This study is an attempt to systemize RA process during MG events in a country that is culturally rich but with poor resources to handle such events. A RA tool will be developed for planning and management of religious MG events of India.
METHODS/DESIGN: Various strategies will be used to develop the risk assessment tool (RA tool). Extensive review of literature clubbed with key informant interviews will be done in order to identify the risk variables and decide the domains and items of the tool. Further, this tool will be developed as a mobile-based application. The feasibility of the mobile-based RA tool will be tested in real-time MG event in one part of the country. Concurrently in the same event, a community survey of residents and visitors will be done in order to assess public perceptions of public health and environmental risks associated with MG events.
The findings of this study will provide insights into the public health and environmental concerns that need to be considered if preventive strategies and intervention programs are to be designed for MG events. A "RA Tool," which can be used in the planning and management of MG events by the public health managers will strengthen the existing health systems preparedness plans for MGs.
宗教集会一直是我们社会不可或缺的一部分。从一开始，集会活动就为规划适当的应急公共卫生应对措施提供了具有挑战性的环境。已发表的研究基本上都是关于回顾性审查、公共卫生准备情况的案例研究，或者个别活动中提供的医疗服务。了解与集会相关的变量是公共卫生管理人员的第一步。风险评估（RA）是活动前规划的关键部分，因为它有助于预见潜在风险。基于风险评估，可以制定预防措施，并确保控制潜在问题的基础设施到位。本研究旨在对一个文化丰富但资源匮乏以应对此类活动的国家的宗教集会活动期间的风险评估过程进行系统化。将开发一个风险评估工具，用于印度宗教集会活动的规划和管理。
方法/设计：将使用各种策略来开发风险评估工具（RA工具）。将对文献进行广泛审查，并结合关键信息提供者访谈，以确定风险变量，并确定该工具的领域和项目。此外，该工具将开发为基于移动设备的应用程序。将在该国一个地区的实际宗教集会活动中实时测试基于移动设备的风险评估工具的可行性。同时，在同一活动中，将对居民和访客进行社区调查，以评估公众对与宗教集会活动相关的公共卫生和环境风险的看法。
本研究的结果将为在为宗教集会活动设计预防策略和干预计划时需要考虑的公共卫生和环境问题提供见解。一个可供公共卫生管理人员用于宗教集会活动规划和管理的“风险评估工具”将加强现有的宗教集会活动卫生系统准备计划。
