Can proactive roles played by Community Medicine professionals in times of COVID-19 Pandemic bring the leadership of public health in India in the right hands?

ABSTRACT

Since the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic, various public health measures have been in focus, viz. social distancing, hand hygiene, use of masks, screening of patients for COVID-19 symptoms, development of quarantine and isolation facilities, and public health surveillance. Most of these relate to the principles of prevention, early case detection, and primary care. In the ongoing fight against COVID-19, community medicine (CM) professionals are involved at various positions and have been leading from the front in a variety of activities, be it screening, patient care, surveillance, orientation and training of front line workers, community engagement, evidence generation through research, and development of guidelines. However, their engagement in policymaking has still been limited. The government should work more closely with CM professionals in order to stem the tide of COVID-19 or any such public health emergencies in the future by shifting the focus to preventive and promotive interventions. CM professionals should take a more proactive approach in getting involved in policymaking and demonstrate leadership through their actions to lead the national, state, and district-level public health teams through collaboration across disciplines and sectors. This will help bring the leadership of public health in India in the right hands for optimum population health and appropriate and timely health emergency response.