E P Abdul Azeez

Bio: E P Abdul Azeez is an academic researcher from Amity University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Academic writing & Publishing. The author has an hindex of 2, co-authored 8 publications receiving 7 citations.

Women’s Experiences of Defecating in the Open: A Qualitative Study:

Abstract: The issue of open defecation is ubiquitous in a country like India where certain demographic groups are underprivileged and often the victims of substandard life and human right violations. Women a...

Is the Kerala Model of Community-Based Palliative Care Operations Sustainable? Evidence from the Field.

Abstract: Background: The palliative care operation in Kerala, unlike other parts of India, is widespread. Kerala's community-based approach to palliative care is often recognized in the current literature as a sustainable model. However, the sustainability of palliative care operations is not empirically studied, and the domains of sustainability are not clearly explained in the current literature. Aims: The present study attempted to explore the following research questions. First, are the community-based palliative care operations in Kerala really sustainable? Second, what are the dimensions of sustainability? Methods: To answer these research questions, an empirical field-based investigation was carried out using the case study method. The study was conducted among ten selected palliative care units in the Malappuram and Palakkad districts of Kerala. The records of service delivery, reports, and other available documents were accessed. Interviews were conducted with the key functionaries and other staff of the individual palliative care units. Results: The result of the study indicates that palliative care is delivering uninterrupted and comprehensive care to the needy in the region. Three dimensions were evident as the sustainability of palliative care operation. Conclusion: The replication of this model requires an understanding of these dimensions.

Diminishing traditional methods and inaccessible modern healthcare: the dilemma of tribal health in India

Abstract: This paper critically examines the state of tribal health in India by analyzing the accessibility and availability of traditional medicine and modern healthcare.,This essay is the product of an extensive review of the literature and authors' personal experience in working with the tribal communities.,The traditional medicinal practices once very prevalent among the tribal communities are diminishing due to various socio-economic, environmental and political factors. Modern healthcare in India's tribal region is characterized by a lack of availability, accessibility and affordability. As a result of the diminishing traditional practices and inaccessible modern healthcare provisions, tribal communities depend on quacks and magico-religious practices.,This essay advocates for urgent policy interventions to integrate traditional medicine and modern healthcare practices to address critical tribal health issues. Preservation of traditional medicinal knowledge-base and improving research in the field have the potential to address the health of tribal communities and of others. The accessibility and availability of modern healthcare facilities in tribal regions should be improved to ensure better health outcomes.

Academic Writing and Publishing in India: Is Quality a Touchstone?

Abstract: This paper explores the current trends of academic writing and publishing in India. The recent past has marked the reverberation of journals and other opportunities for publishing scholarly works in numerous platforms. Negative trends have also grown along with this publication boom as far the quality is concerned. Paid publication, publication without a peer review system, plagiarism and unethical practices have become quite common these days. The contest to increase API (Academic Performance Indicator) through publication has done injustice to the system of knowledge dissemination. This analysis is based on an assessment conducted by reviewing a number of research papers/articles and books. The papers for analysis were selected using the criteria developed by Jeffrey Beall for 'Determining Predatory Open-Access Publishers' (This criterion is in accordance with Committee on Publication Ethics). Fifty articles/research papers were analyzed from the field of social sciences and humanities. The probable chances of being reviewed, plagiarism, language, citation, referencing, nature of author's institutional affiliation and other aspects are analyzed.

The Korku Tribe of Melghat Region in India and Their Current State: An Ethnographic Study:

Abstract: This article is an attempt to document the perturbing socioeconomic and developmental issues of the Korku tribe, one of the most deprived tribal populations found in the state of Madhya Pra...

Water, Sanitation, and Women's Empowerment: A systematic review and qualitative metasynthesis

Abstract: Background Water and sanitation programs historically have focused on women9s instrumental value in improving effectiveness and impact of programs, though focus is shifting to consider how programming and conditions may contribute to women9s empowerment an gender equality. To date no systematic review has comprehensively assessed and synthesized evidence on water and sanitation and women9s and girls9 empowerment. The primary aims of this review were to: a) identify empirical water and sanitation research that engaged empowerment and/or empowerment-related domains from a pre-specified conceptual model; b) tabulate and report how empowerment-related terminology was used, where and when research was conducted, what methods were leveraged, and if water and/or sanitation was the primary focus; c) synthesize findings by empowerment domain and water and/or sanitation focus. Methods and Findings The conceptual model of women9s and girls9 empowerment developed by van Eerdewijk et.al (2017) informed our search strategy and analysis. The model presents three interrelated domains (agency, resources, institutional structures) and 13 sub-domains of empowerment. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, CABI Global Health, PsycINFO, CINAHL and AGRICOLA for any peer-reviewed sources presenting research related to water and/or sanitation and either empowerment and/or related terms from the conceptual model (4 May 2020). Systematic and ancestry and decendency searching identified 12,616 publications, of which 257 were included following screening, representing 1,600,348 participants. We assessed all studies using the Mixed-Method Appraisal Tool (MMAT). We followed the 9best-fit framework synthesis9 approach for analysis, using the domains and sub-domains of the conceptual model as codes to assess all included sources. During coding, we inductively identified two additional sub-domains relevant to water and sanitation: privacy and freedom of movement. Thematic analysis guided synthesis of coded text by domain and sub-domain. The majority of research took place in Asia (46%; 117) or Africa (40%; 102), engaged adults (69%; 177), and were published since 2010; (82%; 211). A greater proportion of studies focused on water (45%; 115) than sanitation (22%; 57) or both (33%; 85). Over half of articles use the term empowerment yet only 7% (17) provided a clear definition or conceptualization. Agency was the least commonly engaged domain (47%; 122) while the Resources domain was dominant (94%; 241). Measures for assessing empowerment and related domains is limited. This review was limited by only including sources in English and only includes menstruation-focused research in the context of water and sanitation. Conclusions Water and sanitation research specifically engaging women9s and girls9 empowerment in a well-defined or conceptualized manner is limited. A substantial body of research examining domains and sub-domains of empowerment exists, as does research that illuminates myriad negative impacts of water and sanitation conditions and circumstances women9s and girl9s well-being. Available research should be used to develop and evaluate programs focused on improving the life outcomes of women and girls, which has only been minimally conducted to date. A more comprehensive 9transformative WASH9 that includes gender-transformative approaches to challenge and reduce systemic constraints on women9s and girls9 resources and agency is not only warranted but long overdue.

Improving health services for tribal populations : Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu

Abstract: India's poor tribal people have far worse health indicators than the general population. Most tribal people live in remote rural hamlets in hilly, forested or desert areas where illiteracy, trying physical environments, malnutrition, inadequate access to potable water, and lack of personal hygiene and sanitation make them more vulnerable to disease. Three World Bank-supported state health systems projects-in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu adopted a number of innovative strategies to improve the health of tribal groups. The popularity of these initiatives and their impact on the health of tribal populations has prompted all three states to expand most of these endeavours in a phased manner.

Predatory publishing from the Global South perspective

Abstract: The publication of research outputs, in the main, has a social justice aim that is enacted by the desire of researchers to share their research findings for the betterment of society. There is a strong belief in the necessity of a symbiotic relationship between reader and researcher. This relationship is supported by the view that access to published knowledge is essential for the production of new knowledge, and new research builds on previous knowledge, establishing its validity through collective scrutiny. Traditionally, research has been made public through journals, meeting proceedings, and books produced largely by commercial publishers, and access to this research has had to be bought. Despite the hope for a more symbiotic relationship, many accept that certain research findings will solicit greater interest than others. One can quite comfortably assume that if certain research publications are not ‘relevant’ to the potential reader, then they will not solicit too much interest. The responsibility lies with the thinking reader to analyse the research outputs to determine their relevancy and influence, whether it is for education, adaptation, or praxis. This admirable process of sharing information for the betterment of society has been hijacked by commercial publishers who have taken the research content and, with the aid of pro bono reviewing on the part of faculty researchers, have placed a levy upon the distribution of scholarly intellectual work of the researchers. The prohibitive costs levied for access to this research have drastically limited dissemination of this same research. Researchers have responded to this limitation by advocating for more transformative publishing models that would be focused on driving open access as opposed to profit margins. In the case of journals, instead of limiting access to those who are able to purchase subscriptions, some researchers are insisting that scholarly articles must be freely accessible to anyone who has access to the internet, emphasising the social justice aspect of research disseminstion. Clearly, researchers’ desire to share findings has been made vulnerable to exploitation by commercial publishers who not only levy exorbitant dissemination charges, but also coerce researchers to cede copyright in exchange for improved visibility of their work. Then there are those unethical publishers who engage in unsavoury publishing processes making ‘unearned’ profits through deceptive processes, for example, the promise of vigorous peer review process, however, the evential publication of the submission devoid of such a process. The whole publishing landscape has been turned on its head and has now become a tool for large profits as well as personal and institutional prestige. The crux of this paper is to engage a discourse on the issue of what the librarian Jeffrey Beall termed ‘predatory publishing’.1 This unilateral determination of predatory publishing sent the research publishing world into a tizzy. Even though Beall has withdrawn his list from the internet, thanks to web-crawling rechnology, his list is not cleared from the web archive, nor can anyone prevent the analysis of the list by anyone who wants to parse it. Nor, has there been subsequently an adequate reconceptualization of predatory publishing to ensure that it is not discriminatory to open access (OA) or the Global South. 1 Although Beall has since taken down his website, Scholarly Open Access, where he posted and regularly updated his list of “predatory” open-access publishers, the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine has captured and archived various time-stamped versions of it: https://web.archive.org/web/20160422160248/https://scholarlyoa.com/publishers/.

Interface between Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Human Rights in Realizing Right to Health and Health Care – An Indian Perspective

Abstract: India is rich in genetic resources and traditional knowledge (TK) and it is one of the countries with mega biodiversity. Traditional knowledge used by Indian indigenous and local communities is the backbone for their existence, especially in key sectors of food and health. More than 1.5 million traditional medical practitioners in India use medicinal plants for preventive, promotional and curative purposes. About 65% of the Indian population relies upon traditional medicine for its healthcare needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that the goal of ‘health for all’ will be accomplished with wide usage of herbal medicines. The relationship between traditional medicinal knowledge and IPR is intricate relates to the equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the commercial exploitation of such knowledge. Hence, this paper argues for the rising need to preserve the traditional medicinal knowledge of the India, and translation of the traditional knowledge into drug development programme. This paper also aims to elucidate the theoretical framework of role of TK in realizing right to health, to identify the potential manifestations and causes of violations of the right to health in practice. The human rights approach will enable the researcher to bring a perspective on potential challenges to the rights of the various stakeholders in creation of TK. This paper concludes that TK can contribute to realizing the right to health through their availability, accessibility, acceptability, and relative quality.

Diminishing traditional methods and inaccessible modern healthcare: the dilemma of tribal health in India

Abstract: This paper critically examines the state of tribal health in India by analyzing the accessibility and availability of traditional medicine and modern healthcare.,This essay is the product of an extensive review of the literature and authors' personal experience in working with the tribal communities.,The traditional medicinal practices once very prevalent among the tribal communities are diminishing due to various socio-economic, environmental and political factors. Modern healthcare in India's tribal region is characterized by a lack of availability, accessibility and affordability. As a result of the diminishing traditional practices and inaccessible modern healthcare provisions, tribal communities depend on quacks and magico-religious practices.,This essay advocates for urgent policy interventions to integrate traditional medicine and modern healthcare practices to address critical tribal health issues. Preservation of traditional medicinal knowledge-base and improving research in the field have the potential to address the health of tribal communities and of others. The accessibility and availability of modern healthcare facilities in tribal regions should be improved to ensure better health outcomes.