Evaluating a non-communicable disease intervention in Chhattisgarh

The Harvard Chan India Research Center support student engagement for Aashna Shah, SM Candidate ’24, in India, in December 2022. Aashna was a first-year master’s student in the Department of Environmental Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 

Aashna joined the team at Ambuja Cement Foundation to review the Foundation’s interventions on non-communicable diseases in Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh. During the 3-day visit, Aashna conducted focus group discussions and key informant interviews, and observed awareness generation and screening activities in the community. Aashna prepared and submitted a report evaluating the extent to which the intervention has created awareness of diabetes and hypertension, whether it has been successful in instituting behavioral change in the community, and strategies to encourage lifestyle modification.