Why Go to the Field During Public Health Training?

Field exposure is an integral part of many Master of Public Health programmes in India. But what does it offer students, and why does it matter?

“Why are we being asked to go to the basti?” ​“Why are we expected to talk to strangers?” ​“What will we gain from this?”

These questions deserve attention. They may arise from the challenges of fieldwork travel, hygiene, unreliable electricity or mobile networks, or unfamiliar people and places. They are equally relevant to students who enjoy being in the field. Beyond forest trails, riverside journeys and star-studded skies, field engagement has a deeper purpose and the potential to transform how we understand ourselves and our work.

Join us for a conversation with young public health practitioners about their field experiences within and beyond their public health programmes. Through their experiences, both rewarding and challenging, we will explore how engagement with communities has shaped their professional practice and personal perspectives.

Have questions about fieldwork or studying public health? Bring them along! There will be time to ask the speakers and join the conversation.

What will the conversation explore?

• The purpose of field exposure in public health training.
• Learning through conversations with people and communities.
• Navigating the practical and personal challenges of fieldwork.
• How field experiences shape public health practice and perspectives.

Who should attend?

Students considering a Master of Public Health, current public health students, early-career practitioners and anyone interested in community-based public health learning.

About the speakers

Ardra

Ardra is a research associate at Jan Swasthya Sahyog, Ganiyari, in rural Chhattisgarh, where she has worked for the past year and a half on programme data and research, including cancer care and sickle cell disease.

She holds a Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery from Government Homoeopathic Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, and completed her Master of Public Health at Azim Premji University, Bhopal. Her field experience includes internships at Sambhavna Trust, Bhopal, and ASHWINI, Gudalur, as well as independent research with KHPT in Yadgir district, Karnataka.

Her research interests include implementation science and health equity, particularly understanding why gaps between evidence and practice persist in under-resourced settings.

Dewal 

Dewal has spent over eight years in the public health sphere. After her BAMS, she worked in community health with Swasthya Swaraj, Jan Swasthya Sahyog and Agrani Foundation. Fieldwork drew her to the systems shaping people’s health, and to who gets left out. She then did an MPH at BRAC James P. Grant School of Public Health as a WHO-TDR Fellow 2021, and has since worked with The Banyan, Noora Health and St. John’s Research Institute. She is neurodivergent, which colours how she sees the world. She cares about equity, in health and beyond. A self-confessed economics and public policy geek, she tries not to take ideas at face value. She is always halfway through too many books and, these days, slowly getting better at Kannada.

Dippanita

Dippanita is a physician by training and a public health practitioner by calling. She holds an MBBS and a Master of Public Health, with experience across clinical medicine, public health, digital health, programme management, healthcare research and consulting. Her work spans corporate healthcare, health-tech ventures, government partnerships and grassroots initiatives, including work with tribal and marginalised communities.

She is the co-founder of Dibha Foundation, a Section 8 nonprofit working to advance women’s health and empowerment. Her interests include health equity, gender justice, mental health advocacy, evidence-based community development and strengthening health systems. Guided by feminist values and a commitment to social justice, she believes in listening to people, learning from lived experiences and working collaboratively towards a more equitable and inclusive society.