Established in 1985, the Population Research Centre (PRC) at University of Kashmir, Srinagar is an interdisciplinary community of scholars engaged in population research and training. The faculty is trained in various disciplines including Economics, Geography, Population Studies and Statistics. The major objectives of the Centre are to conduct and promote research in population studies; and to assist the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, New Delhi with policy input and feedback on population and health issues. The Centre also conducts training programmes with a specialization in health Management Information System. The main financial support for the Centre comes from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), New Delhi.

 

THRUST AREAS OF THE CENTRE

v  National Rural Health Mission

v  Reproductive Health

v  Child Health

v  Sex Ratio

v  Demographic and Health Surveys (National Family Health Survey-4)

v  Monitoring and Evaluation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes

v  Health Management and Information System

GOALS AND MISSION

The mission of the Population Research Centre is to conduct and promote research that will advance our understanding of how demographic processes impact the composition and structure of populations over time. This knowledge can be applied to improve the health and well-being of population, as well as that of social groups within population.

The Centre’s main objective is to promote and disseminate knowledge in the field of population studies by engaging in interdisciplinary research on contemporary issues in demography and health. Capacity building, through the development of scholars with sound research skills grounded in population theory and knowledge, as well as by providing training to various stake holders, forms the second objective of the centre.

In addition to conducting fundamental research and building upon the existing body of scientific knowledge, the PRC aims to contribute to the policy making process by participating in government sponsored research programs

The Centre also acts as a data bank on population, health and other socio-economic characteristics for the faculty members, research scholars, students of the university and community at large. Further, the Sr. faculty of the Centre also help scholars from different faculties in the preparation of the questionnaires, data analysis and interpretation of results. The Centre collaborated with IIPS Mumbai in the conduct of National Family Health Survey-1 and also monitored the conduct of NFHS-2 and NFHS-3. We have also completed NFHS-4 in J&K. We have also assisted the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the conduct of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and Rapid Survey on Children in Jammu and Kashmir. Currently we have undertaken Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) in Jammu and Kashmir in collaboration with IIPS Mumbai.

 

Department of Community Medicine, SKIMS Soura has chosen this PRC as an internship facility centre for the candidates pursuing M.D in the Department of Community Medicine. Each year 2 students are posted with the PRC for a period of four weeks to get themselves acquainted with the development of questionnaires, data collection, analysis, and presentation of results.

 

POLICY INTERFACE AND DISSEMINATION

The PRC also maintains a close link with the health department at both the national and state level, and contributes to policy-making through participating in government sponsored research programs, as well as through its workshops and seminars. The findings of research conducted at the PRC are disseminated through Reports. Members of the PRC regularly attend and present their research at National and International Conferences including annual meetings of the Indian Association for the Study of Population (IASP), the Population Association of America (PAA) and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), among others. In addition, individual faculty members, also uses different methods to disseminate research findings to the policy makers and other researchers primarily through workshops and seminars publications in local dailies.