Indian Journal of Community Health
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Stunting and its determinants among adolescents in four schools of Bangalore city: Height for age- a vital metric for nutritional assessment
Get PDFBackground: National Family Health Surveys in India have not included nutritional status of the crucial age group of 10-14 years, when pubertal growth spurt typically occurs. BMI-for-age is commonly used to assess adolescent nutritional status which may misclassify stunted adolescents as normal or overweight. Objectives: To estimate prevalence and determinants of stunting among adolescents (10 to 19 years) in Bangalore city and to estimate the proportion of adolescents who are stunted, but otherwise assessed as normal or overweight using BMI-for-age. Methods: Cross sectional study conducted in four schools of Bangalore city using a self-administered questionnaire to capture socio-demographic details, dietary patterns and physical activity. WHO Anthroplus software was used to classify nutritional status based on height-for-age and BMI-for-age. Multiple logistic regression analysis was done to calculate adjusted odds ratios of independent co-variates associated with stunting. Results: Overall prevalence of stunting was 14% (95%CI:11.5-16.5%); 14.3% among females (95%CI:10.7-17.9%) and 13.6% among males (95%CI: 10.2-17.0%). Determinants of stunting were late adolescence [AOR=1.90(1.24-2.90),P=0.03], lower socio-economic class [AOR=2.75(1.39-5.41),P=0.03] and not taking weekly iron and folic acid supplements [AOR=2.78(1.48-5.21),P=0.001] Four of every five stunted children (81%) were classified as normal/ overweight/ obese using BMI-for-age. Conclusion: Stunting is a problem among urban adolescents in Bangalore. Height-for-age is a vital metric for assessing nutritional status of adolescents along with other metrics. We recommend strengthening of weekly iron and folic acid supplementation in schools and culturally specific targeted nutritional interventions for adolescents from economically weaker sections of society using a multi-sectoral and participatory approach
Nutritional Status and its Determinants in Toddlers: A case study of Hilly region of Uttarakhand
Get PDFBackground: Nutrition in early childhood is of utmost importance specifically for first 1000 days. (1) If in this phase nutrition is neglected, it drags the child into the trap of malnutrition. Aims & Objectives: The objectives were: assess the nutritional status of children and identify the risk factors related to malnutrition in children (1-3) years. Methods & Material: Descriptive exploratory design- conducted in rural villages of Haldwani block, Uttarakhand. Multi stage random sampling technique was used to select 703 children of (1-3) years and their mothers. The children were screened for malnutrition and mothers were interviewed via semi – structured interview schedule. Results: It was found that, 74(11%) children were undernourished, 28 (3.9%) were wasted in mild category and 11 (1.5%) in moderate category. About 87 (12%) were found to be stunted in mild to moderate category. Children below 2.5kg at birth [(1.106, 3.817), p= 0.023], non-initiation of breast feed in one hour [(0.979, 3.344), p=0.055], delayed initiation of weaning [(1.162,4.026), p=0.013] and recurrent illness [(1.187,3.447), p=0.009] were factors associated with malnutrition in children at 95% CI. Conclusion: It is very important to follow up the identified malnourished children so that in the preschool age the nutritional status can be improved
Awareness, Practice and Level of Anxiety using Coronavirus Anxiety Scale among the Indian Population regarding COVID -19 Pandemic
Get PDFAbstract: The most important aspect of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) involves the circulation of trustworthy and accurate information in the public health interest domain. Strict stringency measures such as nationwide lockdown impacted people\u27s mental health. Hence, this study was planned to assess the knowledge, practice, and anxiety among the Indian population about the ongoing pandemic in the initial phase. Methods: A web-based cross-sectional study was conducted between August 1, 2020, to October 5, 2020. Coronavirus Anxiety Scale was used to determine dysfunctional anxiety. Results: Among 553 participants, 73.6% had overall good knowledge of COVID-19 with mean correct score of 6.9±1.1. Majority of participants (97%) wore mask regularly, and 93% of respondents regularly washed their hands with soap and water. Only 14 participants scored ?9 on CAS, suggesting probable cases of dysfunctional anxiety associated with the COVID-19 crisis. Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of citizens in a nation reflect their preparedness and ability to deal with a pandemic of such proportion. Good knowledge translates to good practices and therefore reduces anxiety among the population. It is deemed necessary that people\u27s knowledge and habits, including the mental impact, be accessed at periodic intervals to track their adaptation to pandemics over time
Impact of health education on knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination among female nursing students
Get PDFBackground: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and a leading cause of death worldwide, including in India. Breast cancer usually shows a slow development rate, and when it is recognized in the early stages, successful treatment results can be achieved. Breast self-examination is a screening option for young women. Health awareness programs on screening and early detection are the cornerstones for reducing the morbidity and mortality resulting from breast cancer. Objective: To assess the impact of health education on knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination among nursing students. Study Design: The present interventional study was conducted between September and October 2019. Setting: This study was done among 79 nursing students of a tertiary care hospital situated in a central district of Uttar Pradesh. Main Outcome Measures: The self-reported pre-designed and structured questionnaire was used. It included three sections: 1. Sociodemographic profile 2. Knowledge regarding self-breast examination (SBE) 3. Attitude regarding self-breast examination (SBE). Knowledge and attitude scores were calculated and divided into the poor, average, and good categories. Results: There were 87.3% of girls had prior knowledge of the self-breast examination, while 12.7% of girls were not aware of the self-breast examination. Post-intervention, there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in their knowledge about self-breast examination. Conclusion and Relevance: Planned teaching intervention had a significant impact on the knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination. The knowledge and attitude were poor at the early stages, but it had increased significantly after the health education intervention
Repercussion of Covid-19 on Health and Nutritional Status of Elderly: Current Scenario
Get PDFAgeing is an inevitable process with numerous changes in a physiological, biological, cognitive, and social environment. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed an unprecedented public health crisis globally. Both the problems adversely affect the nutritional and health status of the elderly. Malnutrition, increase risk of chronic morbidities, low socioeconomic status along with social deprivations influence the health and well-being of old age. Lack of physical activity is common due to loss of skeletal muscle mass and an increase of fat mass eventually causes functional inability. The review aimed to report the impact of Covid-19 on the health and nutritional status of the elderly. A thorough recent literature search was conducted using PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases using specific keywords related to the aims. All related articles published on COVID-19 during 2020 and their effect on health and nutrition in the elderly were retrieved. The study found that nutritional status influences mortality and co-morbidities among the elderly during the COVID-19 situation. Furthermore, the study found that though nutritional indicators, that is, overweight or obese, significantly increase the risk of co-morbid conditions among older adults, good nutrition reduces the risk of all-cause mortality. Although ageing is an irreversible process, it is never too late to start practicing a healthy behavioral lifestyle for achieving healthy ageing
A study of knowledge, attitude and practices regarding biomedical waste management among health care providers in a tertiary care Institute in Punjab
Get PDFThe biomedical waste, if not properly managed, can harm the surrounding environment, cause various infections and injuries to the healthcare workers, patients, their attendants. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices among different cadres of health care providers in a tertiary care institute. Expecting that 50% of the study population had precise knowledge about the rules and legislation of biomedical waste management, with an allowable error of 10%, at 95% confidence interval, and accounting for the finite population correction for 1700 participants, a minimum sample size of 426 was taken. Data analysis was done by using Microsoft excel and SPSS. Results: Out of 426 subjects, 138 (32.4%) were nurses, 35 (8.2%) were lab technicians and 253 (59.4%) were housekeeping staff. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding biomedical waste management and handling were significantly (p<0.05) higher among the nurses as compared to other health care providers. Conclusions: Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding the collection, segregation, rules, and disposal of biomedical waste management was more among nursing staff compared to other health care workers. Hence, emphasis on adequate training is required among other health care workers for the safe handling and disposal of biomedical waste management
Impact of an Alcohol-based hand sanitizer usage during COVID-19 pandemic on disulfiram treatment: A South Indian psychiatrist\u27s practice experiences
Get PDFBackground: Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (ABHS) usage has become one of the COVID-19 pandemic-related adapted responses. Some disulfiram-ethanol reactions are reported in people who use alcohol-based hand rub/sanitizer and take Disulfiram as a treatment for their alcohol use disorders. Aim & Objective: To determine the practice experiences of psychiatrists on disulfiram prescription to alcohol use disorder victims. Methodology: A cross-sectional study on the psychiatrists to find the experiences of disulfiram prescription to their clients with alcohol use disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Nearly 84 (51%) were reverted with a completed questionnaire. Among the respondents, 28 (33.3%) of the respondents decreased to prescribe Disulfiram, 48 (57.1%) reported that their patients stopped using ABHS due to fear of Disulfiram-Ethanol Reaction (DER), and 20 (23.8%) responders notified that their patients were expressed their worry on DER with Disulfiram and ABHS. Conclusion: Disulfiram prescribed for alcohol use disorders; treatment got peculiar experiences with the incidences of DER reported with Alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Many practitioners were scared to prescribe disulfiram due to DER with ABHS. The prevailing evidence that there is no possibility of cutaneous application of ABHS producing enough significant DER. Hence using ABHS is not a contraindication for disulfiram prescription
Assessment of nutritional status of elderly population living at high altitude regions of India utilizing Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) methodology
Get PDFBackground: Malnutrition is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality amongst elderly population. There is lack of scientific evidence on the staus of malnutrition amongst elderly population residing at high altitude regions of Uttarakhand, India.
Background: Malnutrition is associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality amongst elderly population. Lack of scientific evidence exists on the status of malnutrition amongst elderly population residing at high altitude regions of Uttarakhand, India. Materials and methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in high altitude regions of District Nainital. A total of 980 elderly subjects were selected from 30 clusters identified using population proportionate to size sampling method. Nutritional status of the elderly population was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool. Data was entered in MS Excel 2007 and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Results: The results of MNA revealed that 14.3% of the elderly subjects were malnourished. High prevalence of malnutrition was found among subjects who were illiterate (74.5%), financially dependent (75.2%), belonged to low monthly income (43.3%) had poor appetite (71.6%) and chewing problems (63.1%); (p<0.0001). Conclusions: High prevalence of malnutrition was present amongst the elderly population in India. There is a need for timely assessment of malnutrition for maintenance of nutritional status and prevention of chronic diseases.
Materials and methods: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in high altitude regions of District Nainital. A total of 980 elderly subjects were selected from 30 clusters identified using population proportionate to size sampling method. Nutritional status of the elderly population was assessed using Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) tool. Data was entered in MS Excel 2007 and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.
Results: The results of MNA revealed that 14.3% of the elderly subjects were malnourished. High prevalence of malnutrition was found among subjects who were illiterate (74.5%), financially dependent (75.2%), belonged to low monthly income (43.3%) had poor appetite (71.6%) and chewing problems (63.1%); (p<0.0001).
Conclusions: High prevalence of malnutrition was present amongst the elderly population in India. There is a need for timely assessment of malnutrition for maintenance of nutritional status and prevention of chronic diseases
A study to evaluate pattern and purpose of smartphone usage and its dependence among medical students of government medical college in northern India
Get PDFBackground: Smartphone usage has become increasingly popular in recent decade. Though it’s of great utility in many aspects, excessive usage among youth has shown increased restlessness, careless lifestyles and greater susceptibility to stress. Aim & Objective: To assess the pattern and purpose of smartphone usage and its dependence among medical students. Methods & Material: A cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among 363 MBBS students of 1st, IInd and IIIrd professional year between October 2018 to December 2018 at a government medical college. A 20-item self-administrated questionnaire, focusing on purpose and pattern of use of smart phone and its dependence was filled by all the students. Data was collected, entered and analysed using SPSS Software. Result: Among 363 students, 53% participants were males and rest were females. 80% students were using smartphone for more than 2 years, while 60% were having daily usage of more than 3 hours. Significant association between severity of smartphone dependence and variables like MBBS professional year, daily phone call made and received, daily SMS received, daily WhatsApp message sent and received were observed. Dependence was mild in 8.8% of the students; Moderate in 72.2% while 19% were suffering from severe smartphone dependence. Conclusion: Smart phone dependence is an established and emerging psychological issue which needs attention and intervention. It is of serious concern that all medical students were suffering from smartphone dependence with varying grades of severity. Increased awareness regarding the harmful effects of smartphone addiction is the need of hour
Inventory control: Its principles and application
Get PDFAvailability of good quality stock, in right quantity, at right place and time and at right cost is the essence of inventory control, which in turn is mandatory for smooth functioning and service delivery of any health care facility. Various techniques are available for inventory control, based on cost, criticality and other factors for e.g., ABC analysis, VED analysis, ABC-VED matrix, FSN analysis, SDE analysis etc. Each technique has its own strength and weakness in its applicability. Economic considerations are also imperative for logistic management of any health facility, as any cost savings could be spent more gainfully in some other way and thus more lives could be saved, reduced morbidities and overall positive impact. Future healthcare managers will have to utilize scientific methods of inventory management and the role of an efficient hospital logistics system cannot be ignored anymore. Inventory control is an important component of hospital management. It provides significant improvement in patient care, customer relationships and optimal use of resources. The objective of this paper is to present an up-to-date review of inventory control and critically appraise its various techniques, various costs associated with it and methods of indenting stock. This review will benefit post-graduate students and public health workers in understanding the concepts and principle of inventory control and applying the same in their practice