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The recommended public healthcare infrastructure and human resources are essential to deliver healthcare services, particularly in tribal areas, as the country’s tribal population depends mainly on the public healthcare system for their medical needs. India has a substantial share of the tribal population, accounting for approximately 9% of the total population. The paper reviews the state of public healthcare infrastructure and human resources in tribal areas for a period that spreads over a decade.

The paper relied on data from the Government of India’s Rural Health Statistics (RHS) reports (2011–2012 and 2021–2022). From these reports, data on the physical infrastructure and human resources in the tribal areas were extracted. The extracted data were compiled and analyzed using Microsoft Excel.

The analysis showed that the improvement in public healthcare infrastructure and human resource situation in tribal areas of the country was not commensurate with the tribal population growth seen in the last decade. As a result, the average population covered by a health facility was greater than the prescribed norms in the tribal-dominated geographies. The health worker-population ratio at the primary healthcare level was also higher than the national norms. However, there was a substantial improvement in the doctor-population ratio at the primary health center level. In comparison to tribal-lean states, tribal-dominated states faced the concurrent challenge of a growing population and strained healthcare facilities and human resources. As a result, the healthcare infrastructure and human resource gap continued in the tribal-dominated states of the country. The gaps in health infrastructure and human resources in tribal-dominated states must be addressed as a priority under the health infrastructure strengthening efforts to ensure that the tribal population receives and has access to quality health care from publicly funded health facilities, leading to improved health outcomes in the tribal population and the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

We have not come across any paper that has carried out pancountry analysis of healthcare infrastructure and human resources in tribal areas.

This paper highlights public health issues arising in prisons due to overcrowding – focusing on existence of tuberculosis (TB) and its transmission in a TB endemic country. It further addresses feasible TB management, to develop an applicable preventive intervention that will control TB transmission and development within and outside prisons. This study aims to decrease morbidity and mortality caused by TB by identifying latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) cases.

A novel cross-sectional study conducted on male prisoners of Central Prison Rawalpindi, dividing them into three strata, i.e. under-trial (UTP), convicted (CTP) and condemned (CP) prisoners. Prevalence of latent TB infection within prisoners was methodologically calculated using multiple statistical analysis at 95% confidence interval. This research sourced an invasive skin test (Mantoux test) for primary data collection from targeted key population.

This research calculated existing prevalence of LTBI at 47.25%, 47.45% and 53%, respectively in UTP, CTP and CP prisoners, and 32.2% in total prison population. Overcrowding, poor health conditions and excessive smoking presented strong statistical significance to high LTBI prevalence across the prison population.

Limitations included accessibility to prisons due to procedural concealment, and unannounced release of UTPs that was dealt through supplementary testing. The presented research findings highlight the disease spread across key populations, and the importance of identifying, containing and controlling them. It elaborates the crucial use of Mantoux tuberculin skin test (TST) to identify and isolate LTBI and potential TB cases in a closed population. It also facilitates policy implications that promote health and safety for prisoners, law enforcers and associated external population.

TB is one of the top 10 fatal illnesses and second highest infectious disease worldwide. For decades, TB ruled over human health and threatened their survival. Health-care professionals face challenges in locating, isolating, treating and controlling TB across the globe. Pakistan is a TB endemic country that internationally ranks fifth in nations with high TB burden. LTBI prevalence is unknown in Pakistan. Key populations are well-known to comparatively live with higher rates of infectious disease. Therefore, this research targeted a key population and has successfully calculated LTBI prevalence in overcrowded male prison population.

Key populations are at high risk of contracting and transmitting communicable diseases. They not only possess higher disease incidences, but are also responsible for disease-spread within and outside their community. Targeting them will help in controlling for LTBI across prison population as well as the external population that is associated with the prisoners. TST allowed maximum screening coverage, encapsulated LTBI, spread awareness and eliminated stigmatisation.

Prevalence of TB and LTBI are unknown in Pakistan. This novel research calculated LTBI prevalence through primary data collection and targeted key populations. Authors collected primary data on case-by-case basis. This study has efficaciously located and isolated LTBI cases among the sample population following internationally standardised TST procedures.

Population ageing is a demographic transition and burdens every country’s health sector. A lack of social security combined with low government health-sector spending has made health-care utilisation difficult among elderly in many developing countries like India. This makes population ageing a global phenomenon for policymakers, researchers and stakeholders to discuss and debate in 21st century. The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioural determinants of health-care utilisation among elderly population in Punjab.

This study examines health-care utilisation among the elderly population in Punjab. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data in the state of Punjab, with a multi-stage stratified random sample of 385 respondents. Logit regression was used to analyse the association between several behavioural factors like age, gender, place of residence, source of livelihood, education and frequency of visits with health-care utilisation among elderly aged 60 and above.

This study revealed that gender, age, place of residence, source of livelihood, education and frequency of visits were significant determinants of health-care utilisation among elderly population.

This study directs the need to improve health-care utilisation in a country, reducing inequalities that exist among the elderly population with respect to socio-economic and demographic differences.

This study aims to deepen the understanding of the challenges and implications entailed by deploying mobile clinics in conflict zones to reach populations affected by violence and cut off from health-care services.

This research combines an integrated literature review and an instrumental case study. The literature review comprises two targeted reviews to provide insights: one on conflict zones and one on mobile clinics. The case study describes the process and challenges faced throughout a mobile clinic deployment during and after the Iraq War. The data was gathered using mixed methods over a two-year period (2017–2018).

Armed conflicts directly impact the populations’ health and access to health care. Mobile clinic deployments are often used and recommended to provide health-care access to vulnerable populations cut off from health-care services. However, there is a dearth of peer-reviewed literature documenting decision support tools for mobile clinic deployments.

This study highlights the gaps in the literature and provides direction for future research to support the development of valuable insights and decision support tools for practitioners.

Multiple chronic conditions (MCCs) have attracted significant public policy and clinical attention. Whether MCCs determine other important outcomes, or are themselves the outcomes of health-producing activities or interventions, metrics based thereon have potential to be useful indicators of the health of populations and of differences between and among the health of subpopulations. While the attention MCCs are attracting in various policy circles is impressive, MCCs' potential roles as indicators of population health and of how health determinants influence population–health outcomes have received less attention. The purpose of this chapter is to direct attention towards questions that involve considerations of chronic condition (CC) patterns as health outcomes; specifically, this paper hopes to advance the consideration of patterns of MCCs as indicators of individual and population health. Using data from the United States (US) Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the chapter explores whether both the ‘intensity’ (i.e. the number or count) of CCs as well as their ‘composition’ (i.e. the patterns of particular CCs) might be jointly of interest when considering the prevalence of MCCs in populations and how the nature of MCCs may vary across subpopulations of interest. It is seen that information about intensity tells an incomplete story about MCC health outcomes.

There is growing evidence that several social determinants influence mental health outcomes, but whether or not community-based prevention strategies are effective in intervening on these social determinants to improve mental health is unclear. The purpose of this study was to synthesise the state of knowledge on this topic in the UK context, by conducting an umbrella review of the relevant systematic review literature.

The authors searched five electronic databases for systematic reviews of community-based interventions that addressed any social determinant of mental health (SDOMH) in the UK, provided that mental health outcomes were measured. They also reported the results according to PRISMA guidelines and synthesised narratively.

The search yielded 1,101 citations, of which 10 systematic reviews met inclusion criteria. These reviews included 285 original studies, of which 147 (51.6%) were from the UK. Two reviews focussed on children and young people, with the remainder based on working-age adult populations. The authors identified five categories of SDMOH, where financial insecurity and welfare advice interventions were addressed by the largest number of reviews (n = 4), followed by reviews of interventions around social isolation and support (n = 3) and housing regeneration initiatives (n = 2). Results across all social determinants and mental health outcomes were highly heterogenous, but evidence most consistently supported the effectiveness of interventions addressing financial and welfare support on mental health outcomes.

This review highlights the paucity of high quality, causal evidence from the UK and beyond on the effectiveness of interventions on the social determinants of mental health; severe methodological heterogeneity hampers progress to identify scalable interventions to improve population mental health.

This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of the diverse strategies employed in various Asian regions to address family planning. Beginning with an in-depth analysis of family planning programs in South Asia, this chapter offers a comparative overview that highlights the unique characteristics and outcomes within this dynamic context. Furthermore, this chapter employs case studies to explore the multifaceted influences of religious beliefs, legal frameworks, and sociocultural factors on family planning practices. By delving into these complexities, it offers a nuanced understanding of the challenges and successes in different Asian regions. This comparative exploration equips policymakers and practitioners with valuable insights to inform more effective and culturally sensitive family planning initiatives.

This paper aims to investigate research activity on barriers for minority and underserved groups to access and use mental health services.

Using Scopus, relevant articles published from 1993 to 2022 were collected. The final list included 122 articles.

Research hotspots included cultural and ethnic barriers, obstacles encountered by LGBTQ+ individuals, challenges faced by refugees and immigrants, limited access in rural areas and barriers affecting special populations. The top 10 cited articles focused on language barriers, cultural stigma, gender-specific challenges and systemic obstacles. New research avenues included the role of technology in overcoming barriers to access mental health services.

Policymakers and practitioners can use this knowledge to develop targeted interventions, enhance cultural competence, reduce stigma, improve rural access and provide LGBTQ+-affirming care, ultimately promoting equitable mental health care.

This research underscores the importance of addressing mental health service barriers for equity and social justice. Neglecting these disparities can worsen mental health, increase health-care costs, reduce productivity and lead to higher social welfare expenses, perpetuating disadvantages.

This paper's uniqueness lies in its comprehensive analysis of barriers and facilitators to mental health service utilization among minority and underserved groups. It serves as a basis for developing evidence-based strategies to improve service accessibility and enhance the well-being of marginalized communities.