LAUSR

Abstract Objectives Prevalence of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) are on the increase and there is an urgent need for novel and effective treatment modalities in the management of NCDs. Objective of the current study is to understand the success of one such ‘novel' Yoga and Naturopathy based ‘Lifestyle clinic' model, executed at various government rural and urban settings in Tamil Nadu, South India. The patient trends and health conditions with which they had visited these Yoga and Naturopathy centers are presented in this article. Method We retrospectively analyzed the data abstracted from various government Yoga & Naturopathy centers/Lifestyle clinics in Tamil Nadu, which includes the total number of outpatients, name and frequency of diseases diagnosed and treatments offered. Results Total number of outpatients who had approached the centers/Lifestyle clinics between the period of 2015 and 2018 was 8,914,820. There was a positive increase in the trend of the number of patients who visited various Yoga and Naturopathy centers on a year-on-year basis since 2015. Of the patients identified, most patients visited the rural centers- National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) (44%). Patients who had visited other centers like District Headquarters Hospital (DHQHpl) and Medical College Hospitals (MCH) were 31% and 25% respectively. Conclusion Our study suggests that the Yoga and Naturopathy based ‘Lifestyle clinic model' is successful in the community and there is a positive increase in trend among patients for utilizing these government centers. Further analysis of the characteristics of patients getting treated would help future researchers to implement stronger clinical evidence and its implementation on a larger scale.