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Waste management is a societal problem because of its environmental impact and public health implications. Solid waste handlers have a high incidence of occupational health issues, with respiratory morbidities being the most common. Aim: To assess the prevalence of respiratory morbidities, obstructive lung pattern and its associated factors among municipal solid waste management workers in Puducherry.This community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in May and June 2018 among 264 solid waste management workers selected by simple random sampling. They underwent a semi-structured interview schedule capturing their sociodemographic characteristics, work profile, presence of respiratory symptoms, and morbidities followed by lung function tests using a portable spirometer. The data was entered using Epidata entry client and analyzed using SPSS (v16).The mean age of the workers was 47.1 (±8.87) years. The majority were females (85.6%), working as waste collectors (86%) on day duty (73.5%). More than two in five workers had either respiratory morbidity (42.8%) or obstructive lung pattern (44%). Higher age, occupation as waste collector, night shift duty, not using face mask on duty, and not receiving training on waste handling were the factors significantly associated with the respiratory morbidities and obstructive lung function.The prevalence of respiratory morbidities and obstructive lung disease were high among municipal solid waste handlers. Measures are needed to improve the work environment of waste handlers by ensuring the availability of protective gears and adequate training on work handling based on ergonomic principles.

Background: The magnitude of mental disorders is a growing public health concern. According to World Health Organization (WHO) reports, one out of five children suffer from a disabling mental illness. Majority of mental illnesses start during the adolescent period. Management of mental illnesses start from recognizing the needy adolescent and providing appropriate therapy and support. Most of the children and adolescents are students who spend almost half of their active time in schools under observation of their teachers. Teachers interact with students daily and can spot the changes in their behavior before they develop full-blown symptoms. Hence, teachers can be a major resource of importance in providing basic mental health services. The teacher’s ability to identify the early signs of mental illness in adolescent students can be considered as the most critical and neglected area. Majority of the studies are conducted in the community or adolescent students and much less attention has been paid to the mental health literacy of educators, who are important role models and youth influencers in addressing mental health literacy. The scenario in India in this regard is highly disappointing with few studies done among teachers.

Background: Dengue virus can cause a wide range of illness in humans, from unapparent infection, to classic dengue fever and to fatal dengue haemorrhagic fever. Until a vaccine becomes available for public health use, primary prevention of transmission is crucial to decrease the burden of dengue, and control of Aedes is the only available strategy.Methods: The mosquito larval survey was carried out in the month of November 2017 in Echangadu, a coastal village in Puducherry to assess mosquito breeding sources for the presence of dengue vector species. The survey was performed by selecting houses where freshwater was available. For each household, the presence or absence of possible breeding sources were recorded, as well as the presence or absence of mosquito larvae.Results: Of the 102 houses surveyed, 20 of the houses were infested with Aedes larvae. A total of 182 containers were found in these households of which 47 containers were positive for Aedes larvae. Coconut shells, plastic, metal and discarded containers were the most often found breeding sites.Conclusions: The larval surveillance indicators among the households surveyed revealed a very high risk of future dengue outbreak in the village. All the containers examined including those positive for Aedes larvae were safely disposed.

Background: Healthcare expenditures exacerbate poverty, with about 39 million people falling into poverty every year because of such expenditures. Tobacco and alcohol consumption in addition to harmful health impact have economic consequences at household level. Aim: To evaluate healthcare, alcohol, and tobacco expenditures among households in rural Puducherry and their impact on household expenditure patterns. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional analytical study was conducted in selected villages within 5 km of a medical college hospital in Puducherry from September 2016 to June 2017. Sociodemographic details and various household expenditures were obtained from 817 households with 3459 individuals. Data were analyzed using STATA (v14). Results: Higher mean percentage of health expenditure was found among households with low socioeconomic status [17.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 14–21.3)] and no health insurance schemes [13.4 (95% CI: 11.1–15.7)]. Households with low socioeconomic status [13.1 (95% CI: 7.5–18.7)] had higher tobacco–alcohol expenditure. Increased health expenditure among households was positively correlated with loan (r s = 0.48). Increased alcohol–tobacco expenditure among households was negatively correlated with food (r s = −0.52) and education (r s = −0.70) expenditure. Conclusion: Healthcare and alcohol–tobacco expenditure individually contributed to one-tenth of the household budget. Spending on healthcare, alcohol, and tobacco created significant negative influence on investment in human capital development.