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| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 1 | Page : 1-2 |
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Pandemics are fought with right information and empowered people,'till we win' does exactly that
Bhupendra Kumar Rana
MSc PhD PGDHHM MAHA, Chief Executive Officer, Quality and Accreditation Institute (QAI), A-34, Sector 48, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
| Date of Web Publication | 7-Jul-2021 |
Correspondence Address:
Bhupendra Kumar Rana
MSc PhD PGDHHM MAHA, Chief Executive Officer, Quality and Accreditation Institute (QAI), A-34, Sector 48, Noida, Uttar Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/2666-3848.320811
How to cite this article:
Rana BK. Pandemics are fought with right information and empowered people,'till we win' does exactly that. QAI J Healthc Qual Patient Saf 2020;2:1-2 |
How to cite this URL:
Rana BK. Pandemics are fought with right information and empowered people,'till we win' does exactly that. QAI J Healthc Qual Patient Saf [serial online] 2020 [cited 2023 Mar 27];2:1-2. Available from: https://www.QAIJ.org/text.asp?2020/2/1/1/320811 |
'Till We Win': India's Fight Against The COVID-19 Pandemic”. Dr Chandrakant Lahariya, Dr Gagandeep Kang and Dr Randeep Guleria (Authors). Penguin Random House India; New Delhi; 2020. Pp 338.
Pandemics are unique challenge. They affect every citizen and impact is not restricted to health only but to economy and society as well. It was witnessed that halting the spread of virus and treating the sick is not the only challenge. Stigma, discrimination and misinformation are equally big challenges, which worsens the impact of a pandemic. Therefore, in addition to strengthening health systems, fighting the epidemics and pandemic requires empowering people with right information, in easy to understand language and in timely manner.
It is this context that a new book on the COVID-19 pandemic in India and health sector response, written by India's three eminent healthcare professionals is what we all needed. The book has four sections and eleven chapters covers what we need to know to deal with and how we can be ready and better in time to come. The book provides everything one need to know about the ongoing pandemic. It is written in easy-to-understand language and answers key questions and queries which people have about the disease and pandemic.
Dr Lahariya, Dr Kang and Dr Guleria are amongst the most visible faces of pandemic in India. They are members of various important committees and working groups which guided the government of India in pandemic response. They regularly appear on television and write newspaper columns and known for their prowess's in the science communication. Together, they make a formidable combination of best brains of India, by any given standards. They are also amongst the most credible voices on various health and policy issues. Till We Win is one of the best science communication book on medical topic, I have come across.
The book provides in-depth overview of India's response to the pandemic. We all in healthcare policy domain keep talking about potential pandemics and the threats they pose globally. However, there was no proactive approach towards dealing with one, if such pandemic would strike. The COVID-19 pandemic perhaps caught all countries across the globe partly unprepared. It has shown that still there are 'situations and problems' which might not be just restricted to a developing country but even to the high-income countries.
The book highlight how India has continued to persevere in her fight against this deadly virus. The book explores various possibilities including how learnings from COVID-19 pandemic can be used to strengthen Indian health system. Now, it is on the policy makers, healthcare providers and individuals to learn that 'Never Let a Crisis Go Waste' and convert the challenge posed by pandemic as an opportunity in strengthening health systems. An entire chapter about the COVID-19 vaccines answers key questions about the vaccines and what each one of us need to know. There are descriptions which answers the key questions on wide range of topics such as, i.e., human challenges trial, herd immunity, how vaccine trials are conducted and how the safety of vaccines is assured, amongst other.
The book provides useful insights and understanding into health sector and specific challenges in India. The pandemic would be over, which is given, the contribution of this book in fighting info-demics and empowering people with authentic and reliable information would be recalled. This is a must-read book and good resource for everyone- general public, political leaders, policymakers and healthcare professionals to enlighten about threats, opportunities and possible transformation of public health in India. Moreover, the effective science communication, much desired in public health, requires communicating technical information in such an easy language that it can be understood by a child in 9th standard or a family member who has not studied that topic or subject. I am confident that this book pass this 'test' of communicating science effectively, with flying colours. Handover the copy of this book to your family member, and you would know it, for yourself.
I would strongly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in healthy society, who wants to focus on improving quality of healthcare services as well as anyone who wants to navigate through this pandemic safely.
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