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Title of the Practice : MRDCW-మహిళాసాధికారత (Women Empowerment).
Objectives :
The main objective of this practice is to empower the women of our college, i.e., the students (undergraduates and postgraduates) & faculty members, regarding education, self-defense and decision-making. Another objective is to empower female patients from poor socio-economic background regarding dental & medical health.
Context :
It is a known fact that women face many challenges in day-to-day life. As our institute is an exclusive women’s dental college in the entire state, the management took up the responsibility of empowering its women including students, faculty & patients alike, and ease their burden.
Practice :
Ours is the only institute in the entire state, which exclusively admits female students for undergraduate & postgraduate courses. To boost up self-confidence & increase their physical strength, they are being trained in self-defence programs like Karate, on a weekly basis. Routine health checkups & vaccinations for students & female faculty members are being done regularly at periodic intervals, free of cost. In order to promote gender equality, gender empowerment & to prevent gender discrimination in the society, various gender sensitization campaigns, training centers, workshops, etc. are being conducted within our campus and in the surrounding areas.
Apart from dental treatment, special care is being provided to female patients in terms of related gynecological problems like hormonal imbalances, ovarian diseases, etc. Accordingly, such patients are being referred to gynecologists in our attached hospital for needful treatment, at low cost. One of the most ignored & lately diagnosed problems of women are cancers (cervical, breast, etc.) apart from oral cancers from tobacco use. Such patients, along with students & faculty, are being regularly screened at our associated cancer institute for diagnosis & prevention/treatment of various cancers.
Evidence of Success :
The very fact that we could continue this practice for such a long time itself is an evidence of success. Initially the attendance for such programs used to be minimal; but as time progressed, more & more candidates started getting enrolled in our women empowerment programs listed above. As the word of mouth spread, people started attending our awareness programs not only from our immediate surroundings, but also from distant places. Another evidence of success is that our director, Dr. Preethi Reddy, was awarded with the “Best Women Leader in Education 2023” at Telangana’s largest student carnival “PROST” powered by TSIC (Telangana State Innovation Cell).
Problems Encountered & Resources Required :
Women from uneducated and rural background had problems with understanding the concept of empowerment, & they had least support from their homes; we had a tough time to motivate them in the beginning to overcome their myths and superstitions, in terms of gender equality & societal norms. As most of the patients were from poor economic background, arrangements had to be made to pick them up from their homes & drop them back after their treatment/motivation. Owing to time constraints, we had to adjust our timings accordingly, so that normal functioning of our teaching hospital wouldn’t get affected.
Title of the Practice : MRDCW-దంతవెలుగు (Free dental treatment for socio-economically backward classes).
Objectives :
The objectives of this practice are to adopt patients from weaker sections of the society & to provide quality dental treatment to them.
Context :
Dental treatment has been considered as an expensive affair by general public from the beginning. Thus, most of the dental problems are ignored in the initial stages, which could later become more complicated. To overcome these issues, our institution has been trying to provide dental treatment to people from socio-economically backward classes, at minimal or no cost.
Practice:
Poor patients are transported from their schools/homes to our hospital & back, in our college vehicles. These patients are being provided with free lunch & snacks, as a part of our mid-day meal program. In an attempt to provide them with premium dental care, most of the treatments and tests are done at minimal charges. Every year, Children’s day is celebrated in presence of school kids, and various programs like quiz competitions, etc. are conducted to raise awareness and create enthusiasm among the kids regarding oral health and hygiene. For super senior citizens and debilitated patients who can’t travel to our hospital, we have started door-to-door service, right at the comfort of their homes/healthcare facilities.
The role of a dentist isn’t just limited to provide adequate treatment to the patients; educating them about their problems & motivating them to undergo suitable treatment also holds equal importance. Finally, reinforcing good oral hygiene habits also forms a part and parcel of comprehensive dental treatment, which we achieve through appropriate audio-visual aids displayed in our hospital waiting areas.
Evidence of Success :
Our programs gained wide popularity in both digital and print media. More number of schools started requesting us to conduct camps in their schools, even from places far away. Similar requests are being sent from associations of old age homes, residential apartments, NGOs, etc. to benefit the elderly population. This shows that our campaigns and unique serving style is quite successful.
Problems Encountered and Resources Required :
Although the popularity was good, some parents and caretakers of elderly patients were skeptical about the completeness of the treatment, as they were misinformed by outsiders that dental treatment procedures are lengthy and require more number of visits, for which they have to make their own arrangements. Another myth was that the treatments offered to the camp patients might not be complete, as huge number of patients would be waiting. We cleared these misconceptions by assuring the patients and their attendants that most of the treatment would be completed in a single visit, and if additional visits are required, that would also be done free of cost, including transportation and food. Such campaigning programs require lot of manpower and would be a financial burden to the organization. Hence, various NGOs, charitable trusts & societies are being contacted for the same.