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There is a global recognition that the homeless in different clusters are isolated social groups. They are highly susceptible to loneliness and related psycho‐physical health outcomes owing to their less supportive and fragmented social networks. The conditions are worse in the case of chronic or lifetime homelessness. Beyond this popular notion, other critical perspectives are also there. This paper attempts to analyse the differences in inter‐personal social networks between the chronic and the non‐chronic homeless groups at a railway junction in India. The data have been collected through structured and semi‐structured questionnaires from 28 homeless people (15 chronically and 13 non‐chronically homeless) of Burdwan Railway Junction – a vital railway junction of West Bengal, India. The chronically homeless group displays more supportive and compact inter‐personal networks in this study than the non‐chronic homeless group. Living in the station area for a long time, they have formed a society of their own. Barring some psychological stress and social abuse, the livelihood scenario of these people is relatively stress‐free and social networks relations are more intensive and supportive. Considering the outcomes, instead of the housing‐first approach of rehabilitation, we favour the development of community shelters with minimum basic amenities close to their present location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor often experience illness and the treatment costs are high and even catastrophic for the poor. This paper reports the extent of illness, treatment‐seeking behaviour and out of pocket healthcare expenditures and the determinants of treatment‐seeking behaviour and healthcare expenditures among the urban poor living in Delhi. A total of 2,998 households participated in the study. Socio‐demographic details, illness experiences (episodic illness in the past 3 months, hospitalisation in the past 1 year and any chronic illness), treatment seeking and healthcare expenditures were collected for all household members through a pretested, interviewer‐administered questionnaire. Logistic regressions were carried out for factors associated with treatment‐seeking choices. Multiple linear regressions were carried for factors associated with out of pocket expenditures (OOPE). Of the total 15,218 household members (of the 2,998 households), 4,052 (26.6%) experienced episodic illness (mainly fever, respiratory illnesses, food‐ and waterborne diseases and eye infections) in the past 3 months, 230 (1.5%) were hospitalised and 976 (6.4%) have chronic illness (mainly hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and respiratory problems). Of the 2,998 households, 2,225 (74.2%) households reported at least one event of illness. Unqualified practitioners were the main source of care for episodic illnesses. Perceived seriousness of the illness, having Employees State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) benefit, higher educational status of the head of the household, higher monthly household incomes, belonging other backward castes and settled‐migrant status led to seeking formal care. Dengue was the main reason for hospitalisation. Government including ESIS hospitals were mainly utilised for hospitalisation. Healthcare expenditures were higher for private healthcare. Possession of mandatory health insurance was protective against OOPEs. OOPEs were more for the men/boys and for the young. Improving access to government healthcare services is important. Extending the ESIS to the unorganised workers including urban poor migrants should be considered so as to bring them under mandatory social protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preparing healthcare students for community care has been emphasised due to the global ageing population. An instrument to measure students' community care competency is lacking. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a new scale known as Community Care Competency Scale (CCCS) for measuring nursing students' community care competency. CCCS consists of 21 items derived from literature review and community care standards. Content validity was established through a panel of seven experts in the areas of knowledge with a content validity index of 0.96. A cross‐sectional study was undertaken in a university in Singapore by using an anonymous self‐administered questionnaire to nursing students, and obtained a response rate of 87% (n = 283). Psychometric properties were explored using convergent and known‐group validity testing, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach's alpha test. The results showed good convergent and known‐group validity. EFA and CFA showed a coherent construct of the 21 items of CCCS in a one‐factor model. The Cronbach's alpha of 0.94 indicated excellent internal consistency. The CCCS is a valid, reliable and easy‐to‐administer instrument that measures community care competency. This instrument will contribute to the empirical body of knowledge on evaluating the effectiveness of community care educational programmes for nursing students to prepare future healthcare professionals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was aimed to assess the oral health status and treatment needs of Juang tribe residing in Bansapal taluk of Northern Odisha. A cross‐sectional survey was carried out among 1,412 Juangs using a cluster random sampling procedure. Bansapal taluk is subdivided into six Gram Panchayat's (GP) with each GP considered as a cluster. From each of the six GP's, equal number of villages was chosen randomly using lottery method in order to get uniform representation. A total of 16 villages were chosen using this method. From each selected village, every alternate household on each side of the street was included and all the people in that household were surveyed through a door‐to‐door survey. Data were collected using the WHO Oral Health Assessment Form, 1997. All the examinations were carried out by a single examiner assisted by a trained recording assistant who was sitting close enough to the examiner so that instructions and codes could be easily heard. The periodontal health status as recorded by Community Periodontal Index indicated that majority of the subjects (75.6%) had calculus. Assessment of loss of attachment showed that majority of the subjects (64.5%) had an attachment loss of 0–3 mm. Caries experience in primary dentition was 34.2% and in permanent dentition was 83.4%. The study population was characterised by high prevalence of periodontal disease, dental caries and high treatment needs. The results from this study could be used as a baseline information for health authorities and dental professionals for planning strategies for oral health promotion, prevention and treatment among the Juang population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World Health Organization and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund have strongly recommended a sustained coverage of universal immunisation among all children against tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus and measles. In India, these vaccines under the universal immunisation programme are made available absolutely free of cost to all children through the public health system. Information regarding immunisation coverage among HIV exposed children in India is still very limited. The objective of this study was to estimate the proportion of children of people living with HIV who had been completely immunised by the age of 12 months and to find predictors of complete immunisation. A community-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area between 15 June and 14 September 2009 using a pre-structured interview schedule. Data were analysed from 256 care-givers of children (85.5% response rate) whose parents were randomly selected from the Bengal Network of HIV-positive people. Multiple logistic regression was used to estimate and test associations of predictors with complete immunisation. The percentage of children of people living with HIV completely immunised at the age of 12 months was 73.0% (67.3% to 78.1%), which was not significantly different from that for all children at 12 months. Mothers having received antenatal care [OR (odds ratio): 7.29; 95% confidence intervals (CI): 2.39-22.25], mothers having postprimary education (OR: 3.37; 95% CI: 1.45-7.81), children of Hindu and Christian religion (OR: 3.74; 95% CI: 1.63-8.62), children not belonging to scheduled castes, tribes and 'other backward classes' (OR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.02-4.25) were significant independent predictors of complete immunisation status of these children. This emphasises the imperative need for up-scaling of antenatal care among the pregnant mothers to ensure complete immunisation among their children. A special focus on girl child education should also be implemented to empower future mothers for a sustained improvement of child immunisation in the long-run. The current national immunisation programme should focus on the children from the Muslim community and those belonging to scheduled castes, tribes and other backward classes to improve coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]