Opportunities for Healthcare Research in India

We have enormous opportunities for translational research to improve the therapeutic approach in the most dominant pathologies.

Studies have been conducted in India on health issues like malaria, tuberculosis, and malnutritionrelated deficiency diseases. Innovative research has been conducted in the country on the issues like iron deficiency anaemia, diarrhoea and dehydration, the effects of iodised salt on goitre, and the enrichment of foods. The anticipated benefit from these results has not been fully realised due to insufficient implementation and constraints in implementing the research findings.

Infections are still a substantial public health issue, requiring studies regarding their epidemiology, enteropathogenesis, and treatment in order to lessen the mortality and morbidity rates. Leptospirosis, HIV, tuberculosis, dengue, and malaria, are all presenting new risks, necessitating investigations into microbial resistance, the development of novel medications, and combination therapies. Recently re-emerging infections have become global issues, and there is a need for rapid research into Chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, and human avian influenza. The dissemination of multi-drug tolerant tuberculosis among patients with HIV/AIDS is a cause for worry. Sickle cell anaemia and thalassemia are significant regional issues that require preventative research. Diseases of lifestyle still account for a high proportion of mortality and morbidity in the nation. Hypertension, cerebrovascular stroke, coronary artery disease, and Diabetes mellitus, are linked to unhealthy habits and need ongoing research to both prevent and promote health. The adverse reactions of antiangiogenic treatment remain an obstacle, making it difficult to determine the optimum dose and schedule, as well as the best combination of antiangiogenic therapy and other cancer treatments. Adolescent obesity is becoming a problem, and anti-obesity medications have been developed following successful research into their safety and efficacy.

Contemporary research commonly centres on molecular mechanisms of diseases, such as genomic research and genetic engineering for therapeutics and diagnostics. Research into fortified diet and nutritional supplements has the potential to improve the overall health of the country. Mental health is an essential but largely ignored area of concern. Anti-depressants are now the most widely prescribed medication worldwide, and mental health persists to have a considerable effect on the economies of both advanced and developing countries. Research into the genetic basis of mental diseases, socioeconomic factors, and therapeutics has the capacity to reduce the public health load on the nation’s finances. Research into medical issues of particular groups such as children, pregnant, and lactating women, and the elderly continues to be a challenge, as data on many drugs and diseases in these categories is lacking.

From a low-resource endeavour, medical research has evolved into a well-organized, multimillion dollar enterprise. This has also led to a demand for people with training in clinical research and the promise of chances for thousands of aspiring trainers. India is quickly becoming a centre for clinical research. The global market for clinical trials is a multimillion dollar affair. The majority of India’s major cities have the infrastructure necessary to conduct research on par with other emerging and developed centres around the globe. This infrastructure includes medical facilities, medical specialists, and support staff, as well as technological tools used in patient care and diagnostics. Improved clinical trials on the Indian population can generate useful information for the country and be used to improve health care.

Ayurveda, Herbal medicine, Siddha, Homoeopathy, and Unani have alternative principles that have socio-cultural acceptance with a large population, but scientific evidence is required before these modalities can be included as standard treatment protocols for problems that affect the population at large. To comply with the current patenting system, scientific research on herbal products is required. Moreover, scientific study should be able to connect distinct alternative medical disciplines with one another and RGUHS encourages the teachers and students of its university to explore this opportunity and plan very effective research programs to benefit the community.