Projects
Education and Mental Health Outcomes among Women
Overview: This study looked at mental health challenges among rural women and what social factors, like income, stress, or trauma, make these conditions more common. It helped show how education and support systems could reduce mental health risks.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) Follow-Up Study
Overview: This project followed children who received skin-to-skin care (KMC) as babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NICU. It measured their growth, learning, and health years later to understand long-term benefits.
National Trauma Registry Pilot
Overview: To test a nationwide system for tracking injuries and emergency care in hospitals. The project aimed to improve how trauma data is collected and used in India.
Systematic Model-based Approach to Risk-based Targeting, SMART-India (Atrial Fibrillation Screening)
Overview: This study used portable ECG devices to screen rural adults for atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm disorder that increases stroke risk. It showed that simple digital tools can help detect serious heart conditions early.
Noncommunicable Diseases and Digital Health
Overview: This project trained health workers to use mobile tools to find people with heart issues like Atrial fibrillation (AFib). It made screening more accessible in areas without regular heart care.
Road Traffic Injury Trauma Registry
Overview: This study built a hospital-based system to record and understand injuries from road accidents.The data helped identify emergency care needs in rural hospitals.
Injury Prevention and Emergency Care
Overview: Researchers surveyed households to learn what injuries were most common and how they were treated. This helped design better emergency systems based on real community needs.
Tribal Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Practices
Overview: This study explored how tribal families feed babies and young children and what affects those choices. It helped create nutrition programs that respect cultural beliefs and practices.
Maternal and Child Health Cohort Study
Overview: This long-term study followed pregnant women and their children to track health over time. It looked at nutrition, mental health, and child development from pregnancy to toddlerhood.
Community Health Assessment and Planning
Overview: The first RAHI-SATHI study, this project surveyed villages to learn about their biggest health concerns. It found high rates of injury, maternal health problems, and limited access to care.
Twinning Model
1. Initiate the Partnership
The collaboration began in 2010 with a community health needs assessment in rural Gujarat. What started as a small team effort led by trainees soon became a long-term, formal partnership.
2. Develop a Shared Work Plan
Together, the teams identified health priorities like maternal and child health, injury prevention, and noncommunicable diseases (like atrial fibrillation). They co-developed projects based on local needs and designed them collaboratively.
3. Implement the Program
Research studies were carried out by mixed teams of students and faculty from both India and the U.S. Trainees helped design and lead projects such as:
- A pregnancy cohort study
- A trauma registry and injury survey
- A mobile screening study for atrial fibrillation (SMART-India)
- A 10-year follow-up of NICU newborns
4. Monitor Outcomes
Each project collected detailed data—for example, tracking how many infants received Kangaroo Mother Care, or how many people were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation during mobile screening. Teams reviewed progress regularly.
5. Evaluate Results
Projects assessed whether interventions were working. One study showed that having a “KMC champion” improved newborn care. Another revealed that mobile technology could help find heart problems in rural villages that usually go undetected.
6. Disseminate Findings
The collaboration produced 14+ peer-reviewed publications and 50+ scientific conference presentations. Many of these were led by trainees and shared at global health meetings like PAS, CUGH, and APHA.
Outcomes of Twinning Model
A decade-long, sustainable partnership rooted in trust, mutual respect, and shared goals
Training of 39+ students and involvement of 30+ faculty across both institutions
Projects that respond to community needs, not just academic interests
Recognition through NIH and Fulbright awards and pilot grants
Ongoing efforts to improve data infrastructure, launch student exchanges, and build a learning laboratory for behavioral health innovation