Faculties and PG students from the Department of
Community Medicine, KIMS participate in the 53rd IAPSMCON 2026
The 53rd Annual National Conference of the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine(IAPSMCON 2026) was held in Silvassa, at NAMO Medical Education & Research Institute, from 26th February to 1st March 2026. The conference, themed “Transforming Policy to Practice for a Healthier India: The Way to Viksit Bharat @ 2047,” brought together more than 1,500 delegates including public health experts, academicians, and researchers from across the country to deliberate on strengthening preventive and social medicine in India.
Faculty members and postgraduate students from the Department of Community Medicine, Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar actively participated in the conference and contributed to various scientific sessions.
Dr. Sonali Kar, Professor and Head of the Department, served as a judge for the prestigious V. N. Tripathy Award session and also evaluated an oral presentation session on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).
Other faculty members from the department also played significant academic roles: Dr. Smrutiranjan Nayak, Professor, judged an oral paper session and also presented a research paper during the conference on “Assessment of self-care practices among adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus residing in Bhubaneswar.”
Dr. Sai Chandan Das, Associate Professor, presented an E-poster titled- “Assessment of airflow limitation patterns among smokers in rural Odisha”. He also served as a judge for an E-poster session evaluating research presentations from participants across the country.
Dr. Krishna Mishra, Associate Professor, judged an oral paper session and presented an oral presentation on- “Assessment of the prevalence and determinants of frailty and happiness score among the elderly residents of urban slums.”
The senior resident and postgraduate participants from the department also showcased their research work: Dr. Angana Ray, Senior Resident, delivered an oral paper presentation –“Force field analysis to assess millet acceptance and consumption patterns in urban slums and rural Odisha”.
Dr. Ipsita Ray, 2nd year Postgraduate student, presented an E-poster on “Evaluation of mental health status using DASS-21 scale and factors associated with it among drivers of a university in eastern Odisha”.
Editorial appointments and academic recognition:
Prof (Dr.) Sonali Kar has been elected Assistant Editor of the Indian Journal of Public Healthunder the Indian Public Health Associationfor the term 2026–2028.
Besides, Prof. (Dr.) Ipsa Mohapatra, received the prestigious PREACH Award 2025(Public Health Research and Evidence for a Change) in recognition for her valuable contribution as a reviewer in PREACH- 2025, 12th December, 2025, organized by State Health Systems Resource Centre, Gujarat.
Dr. Prem Sagar Panda, Associate Professor, has also been selected as Assistant Editor of IJCM, acknowledging his contributions to the field of community medicine.
Dr. Priyanka Mohanty, final year postgraduate resident from the department secured the second runners up position in the IAPSM blog Competition 2026 for her blog titled “Room No. 45 to Rural Odisha: A Journey of Learning, Courage, and Commitment on World AIDS Day”, showcasing innovative dissemination of public health perspectives through digital media.
The outstanding contributions of both faculty and students of the Department of Community Medicine KIMS through scientific presentations, session chairing, and academic leadership highlighted the department’s continued commitment to excellence in public health research, education, and national academic engagement.