Page 40 - DAIS - DAISPORA ISSUE03

Since the pandemic, we have seen public interest in good health and The second pillar of
preventative care grow exponentially.
preventative healthcare is
The Indian healthcare industry
grew past 370 billion early diagnosis.
dollars in 2022.
It is predicted to grow over
600 billion dollars
by 2024.
Simply put, the pandemic brought health to the front of our minds. People are
more concerned about their health, and more likely to seek the knowledge
required to make educated choices about their treatments. Infection control,
i.e., the practice of sanitization (originally only used in clinical settings), is now
the norm across many industries (for example, at your salon or local cafe); and
vaccination protocols and risk to others are now considered when allowing
people to return to workplaces and schools after an illness.
A better focus on preventative healthcare doesn’t just protect you and your
family, it also protects society. Nowhere is this clearer than with vaccination.
Our country’s eradication of Polio is such a global success story, the grassroots
campaign to achieve it is being used as a model in African countries fighting
polio today. A battle won largely by a 10 rupee vaccination administered for free
by the government to children multiple times before they turn 2 years old.
Something as simple as an annual flu vaccine (especially for yourself and other
carers if you are the parent of a young child), can offer significant protection
from seasonal maladies.
Early diagnosis is only possible where healthy people have regular health
screenings to ensure asymptomatic illnesses aren’t missed. For those of us lucky
to have the ability to keep ourselves and our families in the best possible health,
an annual health check is now highly recommended after the age of 30. An
annual cholesterol check can identify the early signs of heart disease and allow
you to control or reverse the progression. There are a variety of incredibly
effective cancer screens, especially relevant where there are genetic factors
involved. Early diagnosis of breast cancer by something as simple as a woman
checking herself at home is associated with a 99% survival rate - this falls to 86%
for stage 3 diagnoses. A visit to your physician and a few quick tests could quite
literally save your life.
The pandemic brought the limitations of our healthcare infrastructure and
funding for those less fortunate sharply into focus. Whilst our government and
the industry as a whole does its best to invest in its growth and future, keeping
yourself in good health plays a significant part in reducing the burden on an
already stretched system.
Inarguably the pandemic has had a lasting impact on healthcare systems around
the world, ranging from a backlog of elective and non-urgent procedures to
reduced immunity in the population due to lengthy social distancing measures.
Hopefully, the change it has wrought in how we view the importance of our
health, and the steps we take to protect it, can somewhat balance the scales.
Feriel Jackson
Class of 2005