The work of the Department of Community Health at St John’s Medical College, Bangalore can be broadly categorized as follows:

1.Teaching – of Undergraduate Medical Students, Post Graduate Medical Students (MD Community Medicine), MSc Nursing (Community Nursing), Hospital Administration (Certificate course and Masters) and Community Health Workers. The subject of taught is the broad canvas of Community Medicine and Public Health, with a special thrust on Epidemiology, Biostatistics and basic research methodology.

2.Service – In Urban and Rural Bangalore in underserved areas.
Urban: The urban health centre of St Johns Medical College, located at Austin town, Bangalore, is run by the Department of Community Health. Doctors provide health care to residents of the surrounding underprivileged areas through running a primary care outpatient clinic and through specialty clinics as outlined below.

Rural:The Rural Community Health and Training Centre (CHTC) of St Johns Medical College is located at Mugalur village, about 30 kms from St John’s Medical College campus. The centre is wholly managed by the department of Community Health, with a drainage area covering three sub-centre areas of the Sarjapura primary health centre and some villages form adjoining primary health centres at Lakkur and Anugondinahalli. Services provided at the CHTC include a 24 X 7 hospital based primary care service through a base hospital at Mugalur, and the following outreach and hospital based Clinics.

Maternal and Child Health Clinics.
Clinics for Senior Citizens.
Preventive, curative and surgical Eye care.
ENT clinics.
Mental Health clinics.
Unit of Hope clinics catering to differently abled children.
Community Based Rehabilitation activities.
Specialty clinics in Surgery, Gynaec and Surgical Oncology, Dermatology, Chest medicine Orthopedics and Cardio Thoracic Surgery.
School Health and Anganwadi Health Services

Other service activity which the department has been involved with includes:

The training and deployment of Community Health Workers who provide the connect between the CHTC and the community, helping with organizing and in the delivery of services to the community.
Socially relevant activities undertaken by the Department such as the development and support of Self Help Groups, Mahila Mandals and Support Groups.
The Department is also involved in Occupational Health Activities in different settings, including assessment and audit of health and welfare in the plantation sector, assisting in establishing safety standards in factory shop floors, improving the health of women working in the garment and other industries .
The department is a key player in the Disaster Relief and assistance work of the institution, providing support in emergencies and outbreaks.

3. Research – Research activities of the Department of Community Health are generally interwoven into the service activity, aimed at identifying problems and solutions in the field of health and its determinants.

Special teaching efforts of the department:

Participation of faculty in Problem Based Learning sessions
Mock preparatory exams for the postgraduate students – Theory and Practicals with external examiners involved
Visits of undergraduate and postgraduate students to places of Public Health Importance
Two unique community-based educational programs.
For 1st year medical students called the Rural Orientation Programme (ROP), where students stay at the CHTC and visit villages, interact with families and learn about the realities of the rural situation.
For 4th year medical students called the Community Health Action Programme (CHAP), where they spend a week each in the rural and urban areas, studying communities and organizations involved in healthrelated interventions
Community Health Workers (CHW) Training Programme
Participation in the Foundation Course for the first year students
OSCE pattern of end of posting evaluation for the undergraduate students in the 3rd/ 4th term
Factory-based training for women workers
Foundation Course in Industrial First Aid
Training Programme for Health Workers of Biocon Foundation, and NGO involved with rural and urban community health
Training for students on non communicable disease/ basic reproductive and child health at St Francis De Sales School
Training for students on basic reproductive and child health and First Aid at St Josephs College, Anekal