India

This month a 35 bed private hospital in Pune, Maharashtra in western India, Umarji Mother and Child Care, began piloting the first antenatal Group Care cohort, the first to start in India!

Inspired by support for an Innovation Project at Maharashtra Institute of Technology – World Peace University (MIT-WPU) in Pune, US trained pediatrician, Dr. Tara Kinra, has been leading a team of other Masters in Public Health students and faculty to learn from the success of Group Care Global (GCG)’s Centering-Based Group Care. To implement the model the group worked to find  local partners to pilot implementing this redesign in delivery of care. 

Since May 2022, OB-GYN and Maternal Fetal Medicine specialist Dr. Chinmay Umarji, the champion at Umarji worked with the team to explore the possibility of implementation of the model.  Dr. Kinra, with guidance from GCG organized a multidisciplinary steering committee comprised of his staff. In the last 6 weeks, they completed 12 hours of hybrid facilitator’s training for clinicians and support staff with GCG US Consultant Peg Dublin online and Tara on the ground. 

Feedback from the training showed that staff views this as a great learning opportunity and thinks the model will be culturally appropriate as they are “looking forward for Group Care to take off and lead the way to support groups for specific diseases” and conditions in the future.  They also plan to continue with child health groups after the first cohort completes antenatal and postnatal care.