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Date: 22 December 2011
The death rates for teenagers in India are amongst the highest world, and little research has been done to find out why this is and how to provide appropriate healthcare for adolescents.
The fact is that teenagers make up a significant proportion of India’s population. As they age their health status is vitally important, as the impact it has on economic growth and health systems could be enormous. For this reason, more information is needed on the health landscape of young adolescent Indians.
The George Institute, India is currently developing plans for The Million Teenagers Study – an ambitious study of one million adolescents to better understand the causes of death, illness, disability and future disease in adult life.
The key to such a large study is collaboration, and the Institute has worked with key partners over the last year including hosting a workshop with the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in New Delhi to help build the network that will support such a large-scale study. “There is a lot of support to establish a study of this kind, as it will provide information that will help shape the future health of all Indians,” said Dr Pallab Maulik, Head of Research and Development at The George Institute, India.
Researchers are now focused on securing funds for a vanguard phase in the coming year, which will include 10,000 adolescents from six urban, semi-urban and rural regions of India, who will be followed for an average period of two years. This phase will provide an opportunity to understand major logistic issues that will be faced in the conduct of the main cohort study and to plan strategies to overcome such obstacles. In addition, specific questions about adolescent mental health and injury will be addressed in the vanguard phase.
If you would like to support the development of this landmark study, and play a role in improving the future health of India’s teenagers, please contact Associate Professor Anushka Patel on apatel@georgeinstitute.org.
