Indian Journal of Community Health
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Combating COVID-19 with Proficiency and Precision
Get PDFIt has been two years since the first case of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) was detected in India in the state of Kerala in March 2020. (1) The Government and the citizens of India have united together to combat the virus since then. India is the largest democracy in the world and the second highest populous country with an estimated 1.36 billion population. The country has witnessed three major waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in the past 3 years, the second being the worse. In the month of June 2022, India has reported a cumulative total of approximately 4.34 crore confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 511,903 deaths. The state of Maharashtra has been the worst effected in all three waves. Presently the recovery rate from COVID-19 in India has crossed 98%. (2
Prevalence of the Non-Communicable disease triad in hilly state of Uttarakhand: Evidences from National Family Health Surveys
Get PDFIndia is facing epidemiological transition towards non communicable diseases and morbidities due to NCD triad of obesity, hypertension and diabetes. The risk factors contributing to chronic disease and NCD triad are lifestyle changes, poor dietary habits, lack of physical activity, tobacco/alcohol consumption. These risk factors are however modifiable and preventable. This article reviews secondary data of NFHS-4 and NFHS-5 to analyse trends of obesity, hypertension and diabetes among urban and rural population of Uttarakhand from 2015 to 2021
To Disclose or Not to Disclose? Reasons for HIV Serostatus Disclosure and Non-disclosure by People Living with HIV/AIDS in Eastern India
Get PDFBackground: Understanding the reasons for HIV serostatus disclosure and nondisclosure and how these reasons differ by certain characteristics of the people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is important for effective HIV prevention intervention strategies. Objectives: This study was undertaken to investigate/identify the reasons for disclosure and nondisclosure of HIV serostatus by PLWHA, and to find out any association between the reasons for disclosure or nondisclosure and certain demographic and clinical characteristics, i.e. age, gender, WHO clinical stage and CD4 count of the study population. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among all patients of 18-49 years with confirmed HIV infection registered at the antiretroviral therapy (ART) center of a tertiary care hospital in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India for one year, from July 2017 to June 2018. Results: The most common reason for disclosure of HIV serostatus was the presence of any family member at the time of collection of HIV test report (68.5%), and the most common reason for not disclosing the serostatus was stigmatization (68%). The reasons for disclosure was found to be associated with the WHO clinical stage of the respondents (p <0.05). Conclusions: The findings of this study highlights the need for tailoring intervention strategies for improving disclosure decision making according to the specific needs of PLWHA. There is also a need to address the concerns of those who are reluctant to disclose. More emphasis should be given on creating awareness about HIV stigma, on the importance of serostatus disclosure and secondary HIV prevention in the community
Hygiene practices and awareness regarding Milk borne diseases (MBD) among dairy workers in unorganized urban settings of Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
Get PDFBackground: Dairy work is thought to be predominantly a rural occupation. However, due to preferences we see a lot of urban residents consume fresh milk and hence, few people even in the urban areas take up cattle rearing as a cost effective profession. In the midst of much talked re-emerging diseases, caused by close habitation of animals and man, it would be very relevant to see living conditions of these populations and their hygiene practices in a space compromised scenario. In urban settings, they stay in close proximity and due to socioeconomic conditions, dairy workers in do not have appropriate amenities to tend on the cattle,clean or even scope for proper waste disposal. This in nutshell, leads to a disease enabling environment and the study aims at reviewing these living conditions. Besides, an assessment of health conditions of the dairy workers, their awareness regarding the milk borne diseases(MBD) was done. The findings helped generate recommendations for improvement of the profession and ultimately the quality of the milk. Objectives:1) Assess the hygiene practices during the stages of milk collection, storage and transport of milk among the sampled dairy workers from urban unorganized settings of Bhubaneswar. 2) Assess awareness of these workers regarding milk borne diseases. Methodology: This cross?sectional survey was part of a larger study and was conducted in unorganized sector of dairy workers in Bhubaneswar. 60 dairy households were surveyed and from each household, 2 members actively involved in dairy work were selected.The study tool was a semi structured, mixed questionnaire. The questionnaire had 3 sections; A was regarding household information(General sociodemographic details and Housing conditions for 60 HHs); B was to elicit the hygiene status of dairy workers(n=120) during each step of their work, their milk handling details during milk collection, storage and transportation; C had questions to assess the awareness of dairy worker regarding MBD. Results: Hygiene practices were very dismal at all points like milking,storage and transportation. Only 5.0% dairy households practised cleaning udder twice- prior to and after milking. Only 35% households kept the milk storage containers covered. 44.2% workers agreed that “MBD” is a community health problem. On general examination, pallor and icterus was found among workers. This strongly brings out that this group not only have the potential to be infected by zoonotic diseases, but can also transmit it to through the milk they are selling. A felt need is assessed for these workers in terms of creating standards of hygiene practices of cattle and milk handling and also impart them training on improving their occupational practices
The knowledge and attitudes towards domestic violence among pregnant women in Delhi, India
Get PDFBackground: Domestic violence during pregnancy endangers the health of the mother and her child. Aim and Objective: To ascertain the knowledge and attitudes towards domestic violence among pregnant women in India and to find out their sociodemographic predictors. Settings and design: This cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a prospective study was conducted at the antenatal care (ANC) clinic of a major tertiary care government hospital in New Delhi from 2015-2018. Methods and material: The data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 1500 pregnant women up to 20 weeks of gestation. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 24.6 (3.6) years. All the participants were married. A total of 1169 (77.9%) participants were aware of domestic violence. The participant comprehension of the types of domestic violence was highest for physical (89.9%), emotional (68.4%), economical (21.5%), and sexual (17.4%) violence. On adjusted analysis, education ?10 years and higher SES were associated with a comprehensive awareness of domestic violence. Conclusions: The awareness of domestic violence, especially beyond physical violence, is low among pregnant women in India
Mucormycosis During Second Wave Of COVID-19 in India: Exploratory Analysis From Tertiary Care Centre Of Uttar Pradesh
Get PDFBackground: In April and May 2021, India faced massive second wave of COVID-19 pandemic and then became the hotspots of mucormycosis across globe. Hence, we planned the first analysis of mucormycosis in Uttar Pradesh. Aim and Objectives: coThe objectives were to explore the epidemiology, vaccination status, clinical features, microbiological findings, treatment of mucormycosis and outcome. Material and Methods: This was an observational study of mucormycosis at tertiary care centre of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India from 20 May 2021 to 15 July 2021. Results: 98 patients’ data with mucormycosis was analyzed. Patients had median age of 55 years. COVID-19 infection was present in 69.4% of participants and diabetes mellitus was present as underlying co-morbid condition in more than 85% of patients. 91.8 % of cases were unvaccinated with steroid consumption in almost 60% of patients. R. arrhizus was among the most common agent while we found less commonly reported fungi like R.homothallicus, Apophysomyces, Cunninghamella. 41.8% of cases were successfully treated and 16.3% of cases expired. Conclusion: Diabetes mellitus was labeled as major predisposing factor and most patients were unvaccinated. Awareness about fungal infections, rigorous monitoring of chronic diseases, judicious use of drugs, early diagnosis and prompt treatment is decisive for better outcome
Socio-demographic and Clinico-pathological Profile of Cervical Cancer Patients at a Tertiary Care Centre in New Delhi: A Five-Year Retrospective analysis
Get PDFBackground: Cervical cancer remains a major public health challenge in low and middle-income countries including India. However, if detected early, it is preventable and curable. Objective: The present study aimed to ascertain the sociodemographic and clinical profile of cervical cancer patients visiting a tertiary cancer center. Methodology: A retrospective study was carried out at the Delhi State Cancer Institute, New Delhi. The study population included 136 women who were diagnosed with cervical cancer. A pretested data extraction sheet was used as the study tool for collecting information from the inpatient records. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test were performed and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: A total of 136 cervical cancer patients with mean age of 46 ± 9.85 and mean BMI of 23.78 ± 5.03, were studied retrospectively. About 36.8% of patients were aged between 40-49 years and 57.4% were illiterate. While 40.4% of the patients belonged to FIGO stage II, 27.2% had FIGO stage III cancer. Majority (63.2%) of patients were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), while the rest were adenocarcinoma (25%) and adenosquamous (11.8%). Clinical stage of cancer was found to be significantly associated with educational status (p=0.03) and dietary practices (p=.007). Conclusion: Our study found higher percentage of women with stage II and III cervical lesions and reaffirms the importance of education and healthy diet in early detection and prevention of cervical cancer. Therefore, it is suggested that accelerated population awareness and screening, incorporating digital innovations including vaccination programs are mandatory
Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination among the Beneficiaries of Sikkim Manipal University: A Cross Sectional Study
Get PDFBackground: Covid-19, an infection caused by SARS- CoV2 has claimed millions of lives since late 2019 with no curative measures. In India, 4 vaccines have been approved for use i.e. Serum Institute’s Covishield, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, GRIEM’s Sputnik V and Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine. Aims: This study aims to find the adverse events following Covishield vaccination among the beneficiaries of Sikkim Manipal University, Sikkim. Material &Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among the beneficiaries of Sikkim Manipal University to find out the adverse events following the first dose of vaccination. The data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire when the beneficiaries came for their second dose of vaccination. Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 27 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Out of 716 study participants majority i.e. 79.5% of the study participants developed adverse events following their first dose with maximum (73.8%) complaining of pain at the site of infection followed by fever (65.2%). Conclusions: Vaccines may prevent diseases, but it also brings about adverse effects, be it minor or major. Hence, many studies are required to study their full-fledged side effects and the means to overcome them
Role of Community Medicine during COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFPandemics have significantly affected economy of each country. Health & political system have been also drastically affected in each part of the country. To fight against pandemic, it demands multidimensional approaches comprising of various measures like surveillance, containment, isolation & quarantine, border restriction as well as various socio-political and community measures. Though the entire health workforce is involved at multiple levels, the role of a community medicine/public health expert is maximum in controlling the spread in the community and managing the situation. The community medicine specialists can contribute to the public health as well as health-care services in combating the pandemic.
This review has been done for giving an insight of proper utilisation of public health services and existing manpower of community medicine. Also this will channelize our health system and give a direction for combating future public health crisis. So Government should utilise the experiences and expertise to manage the pandemic very well
Gall Bladder Calculus in reproductive age group females attending the ultrasound clinic at a tertiary care hospital: A comparative Cross-sectional study
Get PDFBackground: Pregnant females are at risk for cholelithiasis\u27 progress, and the obstruction in the bile duct produced by gallstones is responsible for jaundice and abdominal pain. Objective: The objectives of the present study were to see the burden of gall stones, relation with parity, and trimester among reproductive age group females. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 467 females of age between 15 to 45 years. The gall bladder was thoroughly examined by an ultrasound probe of frequency 2-5 MHz in all planes. Results: In most females who had gallstones, single (68.8 percent) gall stone was common as compared to multiple (31.2 percent). More nonpregnant women had gall bladder stones than pregnant women (p-value <0.005). Among the current nonpregnant group, the percentage of presence of gallbladder stones was greater in the female having parity of two or more (27.4 percent) than the females having parity of less than two (8.2 percent) with p-value <0.05. Conclusion: Since Gallstones can further complicate the situation in the form of gallbladder carcinoma, and females with higher parity have more chances of developing gallstones. Therefore, it becomes necessary to know the trimester of gallstone formation and its role in the progression of symptoms