Established in 1958, the Department of Community Medicine is headed by Dr. A. Bhagyalaxmi and offers 11 postgraduate seats annually. As a member of the National Public Health Consortium under NIHFW (the apex body for public-health training in India), the department plays a central role in public-health education, research and community service at B. J. Medical College.

The department actively participates in state and national health programmes, conducts epidemiological studies, and manages major statistical data related to disease surveillance and health indicators. It supports health-policy planning and organises practical field training for medical students through its urban and rural health centres, giving learners direct exposure to community-level care delivery.

It serves as a nodal centre for field epidemiology training, offering programmes for epidemiologists and district surveillance officers from Gujarat and other states, and functions as a regional training centre for the Vector Borne Disease Control Programme. As part of the Rapid Response Team, faculty members conduct epidemic investigations whenever required, and contribute to causality assessment for Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI).

The department has made notable contributions to ICMR-supported studies and to baseline assessments, monitoring and evaluation of national health programmes. Faculty members are actively engaged in capacity-building initiatives and programme evaluation, and the department supported the State Health Systems Resource Centre in preparing the District Health Index. Several state and national research projects have been undertaken. In a recent collaboration with the Department of Microbiology, the department contributes to zoonotic surveillance under the National One Health Programme for Prevention and Control of Zoonoses (NOHP-PCZ).

Through this combination of academic rigour and field engagement, the department continues to translate community needs into actionable public-health responses.