Why in news?

The State Health Department is contemplating extending the Karnataka Brain Health Initiative (Ka-BHI) to all districts.

Highlights:

• Recognising the need to improve treatment and prevent neurological disorders in the community, the Health Department in association with NIMHANS and Niti Aayog launched Ka-BHI in January. NIMHANS has trained 100 doctors at the PHC level for brain health clinics in Bengaluru South, Kolar and Chickballapur districts, which were chosen for the pilot project.
• The idea is to diagnose and treat neurological issues from the grassroots level of primary health centres to secondary-level district hospitals, and then NIMHANS at the tertiary level

Reports submitted

• Doctors from NIMHANS submitted the World Alzheimer’s Report 2022 and the STRiDE (Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries) report to the Health Commissioner and Principal Secretary (Health).

About STRiDE (Strengthening Responses to Dementia in Developing Countries)

• STRiDE is an international project, conducted between 2018-2021 (with extension to early 2022), in seven low and middle-income countries — India, Indonesia, Mexico, Jamaica, Brazil, Kenya, and South Africa.

In India, NIMHANS and Alzheimer’s and Related Disorders Society of India (ARDSI) worked together to complete various sub-projects of STRiDE, such as an in-depth situational analysis of dementia care, treatment and support landscape in India, a qualitative study to understand stigma, and another qualitative study to understand costs and consequences of unpaid care for persons with dementia.