:: IHS - Profile ::

IHS Mission & Goals:

Groom Skills,
Gather Evidence and
Generate Knowledge for people's health.

To Improve the Efficacy,
Quality & Equity
of Health Systems.

IHS Profile ...


	Facilities and Resources


	Front Office Services
	Although, creative and multidisciplinary intellectual content is at the heart of IHS, physical facilities and resources play an important role. The Institute has the resources required to support innovative research, excellent teaching, and distinguished service. The following pages , give a brief description of various physical facilities and resources. The Front desk, which is the focal point of the Institute's office, is operated over extended hours from 9 am to 7 pm. Conveniently positioned for easy access to all, the Front office handles, mail, telephones, visitors, carries stationery and provides other general support to students and staff.

	IHS Front Office
	Class Rooms
	At the IHS, we recognize the importance of classrooms to the total learning environment experienced by the students. We strive to ensure that students have a classroom learning environment that allows them to see anything presented visually, to hear any audible presentation and to be physically comfortable. Such an environment can enhance the educational process by incorporating all senses into the learning experience. Architecture, acoustics, electrical and mechanical systems are all optimized in order to achieve a quality learning environment.

	A class room in session. Verbal Autopsy Skills for the SRS Surveyors Dec. 2002
	Class rooms at the IHS are of various sizes to seat classes ranging from 10 to 40 students at a time. To minimise dust and maintain the Institute’s computing environment, chalk on black boards are avoided. All classes are equipped with white boards, and stocked with pens. Each class room is equipped with audio system for improved sound quality and recording facility. Separate power circuit and master control for lights allow for quick switching between audio visual presentations and class discussions. Adequate information outlets, with accompanying power points are provided in each class room, to facilitate in-class networking and inter networking, which enables instructors, as well as students, to gain access to information resources which are available beyond the four walls of the traditional classroom. All class rooms are air conditioned. Note, however that, air conditioning equipment is operated only during summer months and on special occasions with large gatherings or long duration workshops. The climate in Hyderabad is quite nice, rest of the year. We like to be cost-effective. Low on budget high on ambition!
	Adequate break out spaces are provided near the class rooms. Lounges are furnished to let you relax solo, share a thought with another, or join into a group. Lounges and corridors are provided with maps and dictionaries for ready reference.

	North Lounge	East Lounge
	Conference Facilities
	There are facilities for simultaneous conduct of multiple conferences and workshops at the IHS. All conference facilities are air conditioned. Furniture has been designed for flexible seating arrangement to meet the specific needs of an event. Information outlets are available to connect with the Internet. Each venue is provided with audio systems for good sound quality and recording. Video recording of events are feasible with help of affiliated service providers, who are familiar with the Institute’s environment. Separate power circuit and master control for lights allow for quick switching between audio visual presentations and group discussions. Venues allow for collocation of conference secretariat in adjacent rooms with interconnecting doors. Generator backup is available for lights, fans, computing and audio equipment. Full power back up can be arranged with help of leased-in heavy duty generators, if the nature of an event so requires. The Institute’s policy is to keep the conference rooms free of disturbance from telephones. However, facilities exist for installation of multiple extensions from the Institute’s EPABX for special events such as telethons. Upto ten calls can be simultaneously made or received during the telethon events.

	Library and Bibliographic Resources
	Over the years, the IHS Library has accumulated a modest but specialized collection of health information resources comprising books, reference manuals, journals, reports, monographs, newsletters, statistical publications, government publications, newspaper clippings, annual reports, conference proceedings, audio / video resources etc. The library’s collection in the area of health economics, health informatics, community health, health insurance, health services research, health policy studies, vital and health statistics includes resources not easily available elsewhere in the country. The library’s official documents collection (ODC) includes communications, reports and documents on health issue, services and programmes, issued by state and central governments. Vital and health statistics related reports by the NSSO, Registrar General of India and other organizations are regularly collected.

	A Section of the IHS Library
	A computerized catalogue of library resources is available for easy retrieval. The catalogue gives details of the library holding, including author, title, and keywords. Item records will tell you the nature of holding (e.g. book, video) and where the item is located. The library is air conditioned. Two dedicated Internet access stations are provided for library users. These stations access the Internet through the Institute’s 64K leased line. Access to bibliographic databases such as the POPLINE and MEDLINE is available. The library is open for extended hours from 9 am to 7 pm. A full time librarian and assistants are available to help users access the bibliographic resources. Printing and photocopying services are provided to library users. Students and staff of IHS have unrestricted access to library resources. Health care professionals, researchers and general public can access library resources for a nominal membership fee. In view of the modest collection and limited availability of additional copies, issuing of materials outside of the IHS premises is usually not feasible. However, readers can issue a book from the library before its closing and read inside the Institute for as long as they want. Materials issued like this have to be deposited with the security when the user chose to depart. To enable users to make use of resources available in other libraries in Hyderabad, the library maintains a database of health related journals subscribed by various libraries in the city. In addition IHS has an institutional membership of the British Library and the Indo American Centre for International Studies. The British Library is within walking distance.

	Computing Resources
	Two levels of computing platforms are available for faculty and staff, namely personal and networked computing. The personal computing resources at the Institute are extensive with a computer : person ratio of greater than one. All workstations are equipped with IBM compatible PCs. Personal computing software include a variety of office suites, and statistical packages. Faculty and staff work with Lotus Smartsuite, and Microsoft Access personal database. CDC-WHO’s EpiInfo software is frequently used for data entry and analysis of epidemiological information. The Institute has developed a few specialised software for research and training purposes. These are; (a) the StaTool, which is collection of few commonly required statistical tools, (b) BDAP which allows for computation burden of disease, (c) PRISM, which is a processing research and information system for mortality data, and (d) MathMill a tool for in-class exercises for basic numeracy and mathematics. Printer services are available in each hall. Additional peripheralservices like scanning are available from the system administration. Software documentation and literature on personal computing skills are available in the library. System administration services are available for trouble shooting. The Institute’s campus wide network (IHSNET) is a multi-protocol backbone allowing for TCP/IP and Ethernet communications. The network is supported by domain and name servers, file, mail, database and web servers. Multiple network operating systems including Windows and Linux are available. Local area network access is available to all personnel working at the Institute. Dial up access is available for faculty. The network is managed by a team of skilled system administrators. Rigorous network and system security policy is followed. Access to various network resources is regulated according to needs. The Institute’s network has a 64 kbps dedicated leased line connection to the Internet. Network clients such as Telnet, FTP, and Internet Explorer provide open access to the Internet, Electronic Mail and the World Wide Web. Staff and students are provided e-mail access through IHSNET mail server. The latest versions of major software are continually maintained at IHS. Applications currently installed include Microsoft Windows, MS Office, Lotus Smart Suite, Tally package, and statistical software such as EpiInfo, Stata and Burden of Disease Analysis Package (BDAP). The Institute provides access to a large array of scientific and statistical programming tools, analytical tools, languages and software development platforms like C, C++, Visual Basic, Visual C, Java and ASP. An experimental student network called the Trainernet is set up during health informatics training programs. Trainernet local area network connects the class rooms and allows students to experiment with network administration. Trainernet connects to the Institute’s campus network through a wide area link to allow students experience wide area networking concepts. Students are provided with personal computing resources by maintaining a common student work room. IHS maintains a full fledged computer microlab designed both for teaching and student access. The microlab is used by students for course work, word processing, spreadsheets, file transfer, statistical computing, and data analysis. The lab is equipped with appropriate hardware, software and a variety of other peripheral equipment. Students have access to this room round-the-clock seven days a week. A knowledgeable staff of system administrators and software programmers is available during working hours on all working days, to advise and assist with computing questions and problems. The lab fully support hands-on courses and computer based exercises of the different academic and training programmes offered by the Institute.

	Public Health Laboratory
	In pursuance of our public service, teaching and research goals, we are setting up a Public Health Laboratory. In the initial stage the laboratory will have facilities for food and water testing. The laboratory is being equipped with the state of the art technology to provide high quality services. A Public Health Laboratory- Advisory Committee (PHLAC) has been constituted to advise about appropriateness of the technical services, laboratory design, equipment, staffing, consumables etc., and to review laboratory process, documentation, quality assurance procedures, and customer service. The laboratory will eventually be upgraded to a fully fledged facility that provides a range of laboratory services required to meet our teaching and research commitments. We are in the process of acquiring additional space to facilitate the expansion of laboratory facilities.

	APH students using microlab facilities
	Psychometric Lab
	The Psychometrics laboratory caters to both teaching and research purposes. The laboratory has facilities for practical teaching of general psychology experiments. Applied psychometrics tools for health system research, for example, health status measurement, are available. Available equipment include; three point aesthesiometer, tachistoscope, Muller Lyer illusion board, rate of turning and placing manipulation test, RT apparatus for simple choice and discriminatory RT with built in chronoscope, memory drum, Hanfman and Kasanin tests of creativity, performance test battery, achievement motivation scale, personality factor test, and health status valuation kits developed at the IHS.

	Psychometric Lab

	Workshop Facility
	The Institute has appropriate workshop facilities for assembly, repair and maintenance of computer hardware, electrical and telecommunication networks. Test equipment include, digital and analogue multimeters, test lamps, telephone line testers, socket fault finder, cable continuity testers, logic probe, etc. The workshop is equipped with hand tools, PC tool set, drilling machines, soldering facility, etc. to handle electrical, computer and office equipment repair jobs.

	Workshop facility at IHS
	Easy Connect
	œ The Institute is situated in the HACA Bhavan, which is quite well known in Hyderabad and is centrally located opposite the Public Gardens. œ The Andhra Pradesh Assembly and Secretariat, various government institutions and departments, National Informatics Centre, the British Library, Nampally Railway Station etc., are at a walking distance from the IHS. œ The IHS can be easily reached from the airport, main railway stations and bus terminals in the city. œ The Institute has 12 dedicated telephone lines, dedicated fax facility, E-mail and Internet connectivity to facilitate better communication and interaction. œ The Institute’s Front Office is fully equipped to handle all inbound queries and redirect communications appropriately. œ The Institute has reserved parking space for its staff, students and clients. The parking facility is equipped with a public address system and round the clock security.

	Publication Division
	The publications division of IHS brings out working papers, reports, monographs, data sets, and compilations based on work at the Institute. There is a full time Communications and Services Officer responsible for production, release and distribution of IHS publications. These publications are available at the IHS library. All publications are priced, to cover publication and distribution costs and make them available to public on a sustainable basis. List of Institute publications is updated from time to time and is available at the Front Office, as well as the IHS website. Publications can be obtained personally from the Institute’s Front Office or by writing to the Communications and Services Officer.

	Dr. C. Rangarajan, Governor of AP and Dr. N. Janardhan Reddy, Minister for Health andFamily Welfare, AP, perusing IHS publications on the occasion of the World Health Day 2002.

	Selected Titles from the IHS
	_ A Manual on control of Malaria with special reference to Andhra Pradesh, India. ISBN 81-7934-000-7 _ A Manual on control of Gastroenteritis with special reference to Andhra Pradesh , India . ISBN 81-7934-001-5 _ Estimating National Burden of Disease. The burden of disease in Andhra Pradesh, 1990s. ISBN 81-7934-008-2 _ Structure and Dynamics of Private Health Sector. Implications for India's health policy. ISBN 81-7934-001-2 _ Costs of Poor Health Habits. Sedentary Life Style Heavy Drinking, and Smoking. IHS Public Health Symposium 2002. ISBN 81-7934-024-4 _ The Private health sector in Andhra Pradesh. (RPO1/1998) _ Reproductive Health Services and Health Sector Reform. Focus group discussions with ANMS in Andhra Pradesh. A Report (RP18/2002) _ APVVP - Patient Satisfaction Survey, December 2001. (RP23/2001) _ Andhra Pradesh Health Institutions data base (APHIDB) (Private and Public). A technical note. (WP11/1997) _ Priority setting in health sector. Why is a good cause of death reporting system important? (WP27/1998) _ Reproductive Health Status in Andhra Pradesh. (WP46/2002) _ Family Health Protection Plans for India - A Health Insurance Model. (WP51/2003)

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