Indian Journal of Community Health
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Newer insights of H1N1: Swine Flu Virus
Get PDFSwine flu, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus, is a subtype of influenza A that affects both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. It is primarily found in pigs and can be transmitted to humans through genetic variations in the virus. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million individuals. In 2009, the pandemic affected 178 countries, resulting in an estimated 43 to 89 million cases and 1799 deaths. The pathophysiology of H1N1 involves inflammation of the respiratory tract, with an incubation period of 1 to 4 days and a contagious period lasting 5 to 7 days. The signs and symptoms of swine flu include cough, sore throat, fever, myalgia, congestion, headache, rhinorrhoea, dizziness, sneezing, loss of appetite, fatigue, abdominal pain, shortness of breath, and in rare cases, vomiting and diarrhoea. The most common cause of death is respiratory failure, and neurological symptoms can occur due to high fever. To diagnose swine flu, various tests such as haematological, biochemical, and microbiological tests are conducted, including the collection of nasal or oral swabs for reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Prevention and control measures include managing swine flu in pigs through herd management, hygiene practices, and vaccination. Treatment options vary based on the severity of the case. Mild to moderate cases can be managed with rest, antipyretics, NSAIDs, antihistamines, and oral rehydration therapy. Severe cases may require intravenous hydration, antibiotics for bacterial infections, antiviral therapy, and respiratory support
Promotion and strategies of menstrual cup use among healthcare providers: A primer towards a sustainable solution for menstrual health and hygiene management in India
Get PDFMenstrual cups are considered a sustainable solution for menstrual health and hygiene management, as they are cost-effective, environment-friendly, reusable and offer health benefits over traditional menstrual hygiene products such as pads and tampons. However, in lower middle income countries (LMICs), menstrual cup use is limited. Recently, India\u27s current menstrual hygiene program has included menstrual cups as an option for menstrual health and hygiene management. However, the menstrual cup has not been promoted widely in the Indian context. Even if the use of menstrual cups among female healthcare providers in India is minimal, the manuscript identified the crucial challenges in menstrual health and hygiene management, the role of menstrual cups as a solution and the essential strategies to increase menstrual cup use. Programmatic success requires endorsement from healthcare providers as they are trusted sources of information related to healthcare. Good experiences and leading examples from healthcare providers about using menstrual cups is a welcoming step in the path of the dream of a "pad-free country" for India
Correlation between perceived social support and quality of sleep and its effect on the academic performance of undergraduate medical students: A cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground: Social support can be explained as the availability or existence of people who make us feel loved, cared for and valued, people on whom we can rely. Apart from physical health, social networking and interaction uplift mental health, well-being, and academic performance of individuals. Sleep has been associated with achievements in academic indicators of a person, as its deficit causes a lack of attention and concentration. Methods: A survey was designed to conduct cross-sectional study among the undergraduate medical students. The validated 12 item multidimensional scale of perceived social support and 19 self -rated questions of Pittsburgh sleep quality index was used for assessing the social support and sleep quality among the students and how it affected their academic performance. Data was collected in google forms and coded & cleaned and then exported for statistical analysis, to SPSS version 20. Results: Of the total 385 undergraduate medical students, majority were female respondent and from 2nd Professional. Most of the students scored between 60-69% in their university exam. Majority of the student has poor sleep quality. The academic performance has statistically significant association with perceived social support while age of the student was significantly associated with poor quality of sleep. A negative correlation was noted between perceived social support and sleep quality. Conclusion: This study has highlighted the negative impact of a lack of perceived social support on the sleep quality of medical students. Results also showed evidence of an overall poor quality of sleep in the medical students
Reimagining Healthcare Equity: Advocating for Inclusion of Septorhinoplasty under Ayushman Bharat PMJAY
Get PDFSepto-rhinoplasty, commonly known as nose reshaping surgery, has long been associated with cosmetic enhancements in urban centers. However, it\u27s crucial to recognize the transformative impact Septo-rhinoplasty can have in rural India, extending beyond aesthetics to address significant health and social aspects. In rural areas, where access to specialized medical care is limited, individuals often bear the physical and psychological burdens of nasal deformities without recourse. Congenital anomalies, trauma, and functional impairments due to a misshapen nose can adversely affect a person\u27s quality of life. Septo-rhinoplasty emerges as a beacon of hope, offering not just cosmetic improvements but substantial functional benefits
Substance Addiction in Urban Adolescents of District Ghaziabad
Get PDFBackground: Substance abuse is an important problem in today’s world as it causes considerable physical and mental suffering. In India, adolescents are considered as a pillar of the nation as they are responsible for its future progress. Therefore, substance abuse control among this age group becomes even more important. Objectives: To find the prevalence, patterns and gender association of substance abuse among adolescents in urban areas of district Ghaziabad. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the schools of urban areas of district Ghaziabad. 750 adolescents including equal number of boys and girls were selected randomly from the co-education schools. A questionnaire was administered to assess the baseline information. MS Excel 2020 and SPSS were used to arrive at statistical conclusions. Results: Addicting substance was abused by 64.8% males and 33.9% females and this difference in proportions was statistically significant (p-value =0.001). The maximum number of study participants got encouragement to start the usage of addictive substances from their peers (33.0%). Four-fifths (80.3%), of the substance abusers had the desire to quit. Conclusion: In the present study, 33% of the participants started abusing addictive substances under peer pressure. School-based awareness, health education and motivation among the adolescents is the need of the hour. Role of student counsellors may prove fruitful and bring about the desired behavioural change
Comparing the impact of three pedagogy exercises for popularizing positive deviance concept among medical students in Bareilly: A quasi-experimental study using normal curve approach
Get PDFBackground: There is usually an apprehension fear among medical student and doctors about use of statistics in their academic study. Objective: This study aim to compare the impact of three teaching methods to popularize the concept of positive deviance (PD) through Normal curve theory among medical student. Materials and Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted over two months. 149 first-year MBBS students were divided into three groups, receiving different interventions. Kruskal-Wallis H test and Paired t test applied to see the statistical significance of intervention. Results: A Total 149 students during post-intervention assessments showed significant improvements (p < 0.001) in knowledge scores across all groups, with the Positive deviance (PD) approach demonstrating the most gains (Cohen\u27s d=12.671). Conclusions: This study conclude that the implementation of the normal curve along with PD as a conceptual framework proven to be a significant technique which highlights the effectiveness of using Normal curve and PD concepts to make statistics easy for medical students
Stressors from Caregiving for Cardiovascular Diseases: Insights from a Community-based Cross-sectional Study in New Delhi
Get PDFBackground: Providing care for chronic conditions at home imposes various responsibilities on caregivers, affecting financial, physical, emotional, and social domains. Over time, these responsibilities can accumulate and become significant stressors. Aims & Objectives: The study aims to assess the magnitude, factors and reasons of stressors faced by caregivers of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Material and Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Delhi. A sample of 384 households was obtained through systematic random sampling. The sampling unit was the household, and the study units were the primary caregivers of individuals with cardiovascular diseases. Results: Among 384 caregivers, 223 (58%) were female, and 50.3% were spouses of the patients. The magnitude of stressors ranged from 79.4% to 90.4%. The main stressors identified were economic burden (70.8%), knowledge about the medical condition (67.7%), and changed patient behavior (65.6%). Significant associations were found between stressors and certain socio-demographic factors (such as occupation and relationship to the patient) as well as disease-related factors (such as duration of caregiving, regularity of treatment, patient condition, ADL impairment, and multimorbidity of CVD). Conclusion: These results highlight the dyadic relationship between patients and caregivers, emphasizing that caregivers are a high-risk group that also requires attention and support
Serosurveillance of Post vaccination SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Covishield and Covaxin Vaccinated Subjects
Get PDFBackground: Whole virion (attenuated) vaccine (Covaxin) and m-RNA of whole Spike protein (Covishield) were used as emergency measures in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Aim & Objective: To evaluate the antigenicity of both vaccines by measuring the quantum of antibodies. Methods and Material: Periodic antigenicity of both the vaccines post-vaccination i.e. after 5-6 and 11-12 months was undertaken in two categories; those who were not infected and vaccinated and secondly infected and vaccinated and got re-infected (after vaccination). Results: Both the categories of patients showed similar quantum of IgA/IgG/ IgM and Neutralizing antibodies generated by Covaxin. In subjects, vaccinated by Covishield, the recipients of single dose of vaccine showed higher titre of antibodies than double dose vaccinated. Less antigenicity of Covishield vaccine in infected vaccinated was seen compared to un-infected vaccinated subjects. Conclusions: Paper reports antigenic strength of both the vaccines during 5-6 and 11-12 months’ post-vaccination and also the important point that antibodies titre was higher among cohort of single vaccinated as compared to those who received two doses of vaccines. The paper further sensitises the issue that both the vaccines were developed on the Wuhan strain whereas the virus has mutated twice, generating two new subsequent strains namely Delta and Omicron
Maternal dietary diversity (MDD-W) in Dibrugarh district, Assam
Get PDFBackground: (Minimum Dietary Diversity for Women) MDD-W is crucial for both mothers and children, but significant disparities are present. The study was conducted to assess the factors influencing MDD-W among postnatal women of 15-49 years in Dibrugarh, Assam. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 180 postnatal women using multi-stage sampling and interviewed using 24-hour recall method. Descriptive data was presented as proportions and frequencies, and analysed using Chi-square test and Fisher\u27s exact test. Results: Lack of knowledge on dietary diversity was 77.8%. Only 55.6% consumed foods from ? 5 food groups. Women from rural residences, lower socio-economic status, and late antenatal visits were less likely, while women with higher education, family support were more likely to have MDD-W. Conclusion: Lack of diverse diets, particularly protein and vitamin A-rich foods, among postnatal women necessitates intervention to combat malnutrition
Navigating Policy trends and Advancing Health care through Immunization Excellence
Get PDFImmunization is a key component of primary health care. Several new vaccines have been incorporated in the immunization schedule over the last few years. However, the immunization coverage has not reached up to the mark with several challenges to be addressed like demography and infrastructure related issues, issues related to recording and reporting, vaccine and logistic management as well as management of adverse reactions. This article highlights the key deliberations of a CME cum consultative workshop on navigating policy trends and developing effective solutions to key challenges faced by the stakeholders at various levels in effective delivery of immunization services. The program focussed on new vaccines in pipe line for India and key considerations in new vaccine introduction along with some novel topics like bio repository in immunization and special immunization clinics for adults and travellers