Asian Research and Training Institute for Skill Transfer (ARTIST) is now gathering momentum to create 1 million skilled healthcare providers by 2022 and spur the Union government’s Skill India-Digital India programme. It is now in its phase-3 to collaborate with other sectors across India to create a healthier environment at work places for better productivity and performance.
The final phase will be to measure results and modify strategies, if need be, including the way we utilize digital space. So far, teams from and within ARTIST have been able to train 15,000 medical and paramedical staff. Our aim is to reach 1 million by 2022, said Dr. Hema Divakar, chairperson of ARTIST; FOGSI Ambassador to FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics).
Phase-1 is focused on R&D and up-skilling in Bengaluru. phase-2 included collaborations within the healthcare circle in Karnataka and few other select states in India. Training is conducted for safe pregnancies and deliveries through workshops and conferences in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam and Rajasthan covering various healthcare professionals since 2013. After the skill transfer programme with Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT) in Rajasthan we recently collaborated with FOGSI, NIMA and SAATHII to reach out to the workers amalgamated plantations, she added.
Through our Digital and Online Outreach programmes, we provide a platform for the participants to gain knowledge and recall practice points to develop their skills. We use fine arts to showcase the importance of various health practices, spread awareness and sensitise in innovative ways, said Dr. Divakar.
The programme focuses on anaemia care and adolescent health where 45,000 school children covered for health checkups, use of intravenous iron sucrose in pregnancy and Ferric Carboxymaltose in post-delivery cases . This has helped to reduce the severity of anaemia.
In the area of building reproductive choices, mass awareness is organised on contraception, postpartum IUCD programme in public and private sector to dispel myths and misconceptions. This has resulted in the use of postpartum IUCD to scale from 2 % to 10% to 24% in six centers across the country.
It has also embarked on preventive healthcare messages through digital space where one lakh girls were reached out through educative videos and campaigns rolled out on contraception. ARTIST now targets 100 million youth for this initiative.
Under its cancer early detection and prevention, it has take up training for both mother and daughter. For diabetes care and cure, specialty courses are done for capacity building and implementation of testing management guidelines where 3,000 ObGyns are trained to manage diabetes in pregnancy. The testing coverage increased from 20% to over 71%, she said.
Future initiatives include online certification courses on the Omnicuris knowledge-data collection platform, setting up virtual multispecialty diabetes in pregnancy clinics. It will also adopt schools to initiate lifestyle changes in the youth through yoga and dance.