Community Health and Public Health Programmes
Domain 7: Community Health and Public Health Programmes
This domain tests levels of prevention, basic epidemiology, national health programmes and the roles of ASHA, ANM and PHC. Questions often use a village scenario.
Core rules
- Incidence = new cases in a period; prevalence = all existing cases at a point or over a period.
- Primary prevention stops disease before it starts, such as immunisation and safe water; secondary detects early, such as screening; tertiary limits disability, such as rehabilitation.
- Know the main programmes: National Health Mission, NTEP for tuberculosis, NACP for HIV, NPCDCS for non-communicable diseases, Ayushman Bharat and Swachh Bharat.
- Cold chain: maintain vaccine potency from storage to outreach; check vaccine vial monitors; do not freeze DPT or hepatitis B.
- ASHA links the community to the health system; ANM provides maternal and child services at the subcentre; the PHC is the first referral unit.
Worked example
A village reports many diarrhoea cases in one week. Reasoning: define a case, make a line list by age, place and time, check water sources, promote oral rehydration and chlorination, and notify the medical officer. This is outbreak investigation, not routine treatment only.
Traps
Confusing incidence with prevalence; waiting for laboratory confirmation before notifying a suspected outbreak; freezing all vaccines; giving only ORS without source control.