IndiaPost.com - AAPI focus on healthcare for women

HOUSTON: For the first time in AAPI's quarter-century long history, women's health formed the highlight of a full-scale convention by dedicated efforts of the AAPI team, led by national president, Dr Hemant Patel and Dr Snehal Desai, the summit chair and president of National AAPI-MSRF.

An elaborate range of healthcare issues, from diabetes and cardiovascular diseases to obesity and menopause and mental health were on the anvil. It brought to light that the women today are paying heavy price for neglecting their own health Inaugurating the summit, Dr Hemant Patel said the decision to hold a women's healthcare summit "was close to my heart", ever since he took over as president last year and had sought to increase AAPI's leadership.

"Though Asian women had the lowest risk of diabetes among American adult women population, they still needed to be educated," he said, adding that AAPI recognized the importance of healthcare reforms as a key legislative issue.

The Houston summit was an important milestone in women's health, Dr Dharmi Kanuga, Women's Health Chair, AAPI, said. "The prevalence of bipolar disorder was prevalent to a large extent among women and was difficult to diagnose," Dr Roy, the next speaker, said, adding that the lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorders was 3.3 percent among American adults.

It was the fourth leading case of neuropsychiatry disability in patients in the 15 to 44 year age group. Bipolar patients were more likely to attempt suicide and was one of the biggest reasons for workday loss, he added.

Speaking on the prevalence of heart diseases among women, Dr Nikam, president-elect, Indian Doctors Association (Houston), said hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, obesity and smoking were the leading causes of cardiovascular diseases among women.

Women get lesser cholesterol screening and lipid lowering therapies and less referral to cardiac rehabilitation. "It was a myth that women were less prone to heart diseases and they should be treated at a very early age, he observed.

Dr Meenakshi Patel, Director of Geriatrics, Miami Valley Hospital, Dr Nalini Ramaswami, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Dr Arun Pramanik, Chair of the Board of Trustees, AAPI and Professor or Pediatrics, LSU Health Sciences Centre, Dr Aparna Kamath, Dr Monita Soni, Regional Director, AAPI also spoke.

Like their patients, doctors too needed help in balancing their work and life and had to set priorities and find time for themselves, Dr Nik Nikam said in his second presentation on 'How to create balance in your life."

Doctors should take up self-assessment so that their lives had a reasonable balance and they should list core values of life, apart from money and patients. The afternoon's highlight was a presentation on 'Empowerment of Women' by Dr Ila Shah, whose speech was met with a standing ovation by the delegates.

Focusing on the social consciousness that had to be a necessary component of healthcare, Dr Shah outlined the reach of her Rotary International project which had raised $ 200,000 so far in improving healthcare among the poorest villages in India.

Under the 3H (Hunger, Health and Humanity) grant, 32 monthly camps would be held each month, each covering eight to ten villages, in which midwives would be trained in rural healthcare. In the first quarter of the project, which started in September last year, 1,677 patients had been treated and 184 free surgeries performed.

The community outreach program had made a world of difference to rural women, especially young mothers, Dr Shah said. Rehashing the story of Mahabharata from Draupadi's perspective as she narrated in her recent book, The Palance of Illusions, Dr Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni observed that women today still face the same kind of challenges Draupadi did nearly 6,000 years ago.

In times of all calamities and misfortunes she said there are no winners and women are the worst sufferers. In a well-attended reception that followed the summit, past and present women leaders of AAPI were honored for their contributions.

Those who received awards from Dr Hemant Patel were Dr Kalpalatha K Guntupalli, past president of AAPI, Dr Chander Mukhi Kapoor Kapasi, past chair of board of trustees, Dr Surekha Rao, past chair of board of trustees, Dr Rajam S Ramamurthy, past chair of board of trustees, Dr Vijayalakshmi Appareddy, past chair of the board of trustees, Dr Sarala Rao, past chair of board of trustees, Dr Sunita Moonat, past president of the Indian Doctors Association of Houston and Candace S Howell, Director of External Medical Affairs, Medical Division, Pfizer Inc. Felicitating the award winners, Dr Hemant Patel called upon physicians to get involved in healthcare reforms and assured that AAPI will continue to work with US legislators in promoting universal healthcare.

Dr Dharmi Kanuga said the success of the summit depended on the support and enthusiasm of the AAPI team. In his vote of thanks, Dr Snehal Desai said the success of the summit was due to the collaborative effort of various group of physicians including medical students and residents.

The summit concluded on a musical note with a Florida band-mostly comprising dentists and physicians-belting out hit film music which had the audience take to the dance floor.