AWANTIPORA: The Islamic University of Science and Technology (IUST) organized a population-based Health Awareness cum NCD Screening Camp at Doodmarg, Tral, a remote tribal village in Pulwama district, under its SSR Outreach Initiative supported by the DST-PURSE Programme.
The initiative aimed to raise awareness among the general population, particularly the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities, about the risk factors, complications, prevention, and management of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, cancers, neurodegenerative disorders, hypertension, chronic respiratory diseases (COPD), dyslipidemia, and anemia. Participants were sensitized to the rising incidence of these conditions at both national and global levels, with special emphasis on the increasing burden among tribal populations in Jammu & Kashmir due to changing dietary patterns and lifestyles. The importance of early detection and community-based screening was strongly highlighted.
The outreach team conducted door-to-door screenings, provided free diagnostic tests, and recorded key anthropometric indices. Predesigned questionnaires capturing personal and family medical histories, along with socio-economic details, were administered to participants. The camp was organized under the banner of a “Comprehensive Epidemiological Survey of Chronic Diseases” as part of the SSR Outreach Initiative supported by DST-PURSE, IUST, under the investigatorship of Prof. Ayub Qadri.