Search

Background: The district Nuh has been declared as the most backward district of Haryana state and is also listed among the 108 most backward districts of India identified by the National Institute for Transformation of India (NITI) Aayog. National Family Health Survey-4 (NFHS-4) conducted during 2015-16 reported that only 6.5% of mothers utilize four antenatal check-ups in district Nuh. This study was carried out to estimate the coverage of antenatal care services in district Nuh. Methods: A total of 300 pregnant women who were in their 1st trimester were recruited from the rural area of Primary Health Centre Nagina starting from January 2022 till December 2022. All eligible study participants were interviewed through house-to-house visits to assess the coverage of antenatal care received by them. Results: A total of 83 (27.6%) participants were primigravida, and 217 (72.3%) were multigravida. Only 25 (8.33%) participants reported receiving full antenatal care services which include early registration of pregnancy (within 12 weeks), a minimum of four ANC visits, at least one dose of diphtheria-tetanus toxoid vaccine, and 100 days of iron & folic acid supplementation. Conclusion: The coverage of antenatal care services received by pregnant women is low despite the availability of free government services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 has caused a pandemic during 2019-2020 that has resulted in illnesses ranging from the usual flu to serious respiratory problems, even leading to mortality. Recent literature has suggested that the health (psychological) impact of quarantine is wide-ranging, substantial, and can be long-lasting. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the mental health status (psychological distress) of those who experienced quarantine and their compliance with quarantine during the outbreak of COVID-19 among health care professionals. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 217 health care staff (doctors and nurses) working in COVID-19 outpatient and wards, sent on quarantine at home or state-run facilities. The psychological impact was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Categorical data were presented as percentages (%), and the Chi-square test was used to determine the association, with a P < 0.05 considered statistically significant. RESULTS: Out of 217 participants, only 206 gave their consent to be part of the study, and only 10.2% (21/206) of quarantined subjects were compliant with all protective measures. It has a significant association with the participant's understanding of all the rationale for quarantine and with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (P < 0.05). The mean score obtained on Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) subjects was 18.91 ± 5.16, whereas 63 subjects out of 206 (30.6%) had a score of 20 or more. CONCLUSION: Given the developing situation with the coronavirus, policymakers urgently need evidence synthesis to produce guidance for the public. Thus, the outcomes of this study will definitely help authorities, administrators, and policymakers to put quarantine measures in a better way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 has caused pandemic during 2019-2020 and has presented with illnesses ranging from the usual mild flu to serious respiratory problems/complications, even leading to considerable mortality. Recent literatures have suggested that the health (especially psychological) impacts of quarantine are substantial and can be long lasting. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the mental health status (psychological distress) of experienced quarantine and compliance to quarantine during the outbreak of COVID-19 in Nuh district. Methods: The study included 543 subjects (adults aged 18 years or more) who were sent for quarantine at home or state-run facilities and included "Flu corner" screened patient and health-care staff working in COVID-19 outpatient and wards. The psychological impact was assessed using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). Categorical data were presented as percentages (%), and bivariable logistic regression was applied to find out the association, and it was considered significant if the P < 0.05. Results: The doctors and nursing staff were among two-fifth of the subjects (217/543, 40.1%), and only 11.6% of quarantined subjects (63/543) were compliant with all protective measures. The mean score obtained on Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) subjects was 18.69 ± 4.88, whereas out of 543 subjects, 152 (27.9%) had a score of 20 or more, and it has a significant association with the elderly age group, female gender, and workplace as exposure setting (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Given the developing situation with coronavirus pandemic, policymakers urgently need evidence synthesis to produce guidance for the public. Thus, the outcomes of this study will positively help authorities, administrators, and policymakers to apply quarantine measures in a better way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cooking smoke is a known risk factor for a number of respiratory diseases. It is essential to delineate the role of these environmental factors in the etiology and epidemiology of Tuberculosis (TB). Aim and Objectives: The present study was conducted with an aim to assess the association of TB among the study subjects using biomass fuels for cooking or exposed to Second Hand Smoke (SHS). Material and Methods: The present case control study was conducted in the Department of Chest and TB for a duration of one-year and included 100 cases (new pulmonary TB) subjects and 300 controls as non-TB subjects who attended outpatient clinic. Data were collected as a structured questionnaire. Categorical data were presented as percentages (%) and bivariable logistic regression analysis was done to find out the strength of association between dependent variable and independent variables and an association was considered significant if the p value was less than 0.05. Results: There was more representation of male participants (53.6%) compared to females and (63.9%) of participants were residing in the rural area. On comparative analysis for occurrence of TB among cases and controls, the statistically significant difference was observed for the variables such as age, overcrowding, biomass as cooking fuel, second hand smoke, socioeconomic status, and previous history of TB (p<0.05). Conclusion: Improvement in the standard of living brought about by economic development will lead to more people using cleaner fuels for cooking than biomass fuel which in turn will lead to a reduction in the occurrence of pulmonary TB in the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The biomedical waste (BMW), in addition to the risk for patients and personnel who handle these wastes poses a threat to public health and environment. Effective management of BMW is not only a legal necessity but also a social responsibility. Aims & objectives: To assess the present status of BMW management in health centres of block, Beri. Material and method: A list of all health care centres was obtained from CHC Dubaldhan and CHC, Dighal of block Beri. The present status of BMW management in each health care centre was observed and recorded by using the pre-tested checklist. Results: The segregation of BMW was inadequate in 20 (40.8%) government centers and 59 (96.7%) private centers. Hub-cutter/ needle destroyer was available at 31 (63.3%) of government health centers while only 12 (19.7%) of the private health centers possessed it. Disinfection was adequate in 3 (6.1%) government centers and 1 (1.6%) private center. This difference between government & private health centres regarding above findings except disinfection was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: The study has shown a definite apathy of intellectuals towards the operational aspects of the system. All the health care personnel of health care centres must undergo awareness programme to keep abreast with the current knowledge of scientific waste management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Traffic policemen are at an increased risk of suffering from hazards of noise pollution because they are engaged in controlling traffic noise, particularly at heavy traffic junctions. The effect is more in this subgroup because they are continuously exposed to it. Aim: The present study was aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding auditory effects of traffic noise pollution in Ambala city. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional workplace survey. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive study was carried out in different traffic zones of Ambala city during April-June 2013. The study population consisted of 100 traffic policemen working in different traffic intersections of Ambala city. Statistical Analysis Used: Structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. SPSS version 17.0 was used for analysis. Interpretation of data was performed using percentages and proportions. Results: Majority (75%) of the study subjects were exposed to traffic noise pollution for more than 5 years. Of the total subjects, 5% of respondents reported below-average hearing on self-assessment of hearing ability. Seventeen percent of the study population accepted that while hearing over phone they do miss some conversation. Most (98%) of the traffic police did not use any personal protective equipment (PPEs) like earplugs/earmuffs, and the non-availability of these PPEs (90%) is the common reason for the hearing loss. Conclusions: The study concludes that traffic policemen are not much aware regarding impending auditory effects of traffic noise pollution. Duty rotation, duty scheduling and other forms of preventive modalities for exposure limitation are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information retrieval (IR) is the field of computer science that deals with the processing of documents containing free text, so that they can be rapidly retrieved based on keywords specified in a user's query. IR was born in the 1950s out of necessity to find useful information from large collections. Over the last sixty years, the field has matured considerably. IR technology is the basis of Web-based search engines, and plays a vital role in research, because it is the foundation of software that supports literature search. Several IR systems are used on an everyday basis by a wide variety of users. This article is a brief overview of Information Retrieval. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India mother related mortalities and morbidities are still significantly higher even after having various maternal program and schemes at regional and national level which reflects that such services are being under-utilized., Aim: The current study focused in assessing utilization pattern of maternal health services and associated factors in Nuh (Mewat)., Methods: This present cross-sectional study was done for one year (2015-16) among mothers (15-49 years) under field practice area, PHC Taoru with minimum calculated sample as 645. The selection of participants was made using simple random sampling technique from available randomized list of villages. Data was collected by home-to-home visits using pretested, predesigned, standardized questionnaire and during analysis an association between variables was considered as significant if P < 0.05., Results: Out of 645 participants, 632 provided consent for inclusion into study. Any ANC and full ANC services was made by only 58.3% and 11.7% of participants respectively. More than half of the participants (52.7%) had suffered from pregnancy related complications. Variables such as lower age group, low decision-making capacity were significantly associated with not obtaining full ANC services ( P < 0.05)., Conclusion: In the present study major determinants of a women which influence utilization of maternal health care service includes their age, literacy status, parity, socioeconomic status and occupation. Such determinants shall be considered for upcoming intervention aiming to bring attitudinal changes and concurrently leading to improved and enhanced usage of maternal health care services., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2021 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)

Background: Active case-finding is provider-initiated and implies systematic searching for TB in individuals who would not spontaneously present to a health service, and bringing them into care for diagnosis and treatment., Aim: The present study was carried out with the objective to assess the yield and feasibility of active case finding strategy among household contacts of newly diagnosed pulmonary TB cases and to determine risk factors in household contact., Methods: This community-based study with cross-sectional design was conducted among the household contacts of all newly diagnosed microbiologically confirmed pulmonary TB patients registered at Tuberculosis Unit (TU), Nuh. Investigator conducted house to house visit and met respective index case and his/her household contacts to build the rapport., Results: In the present study, there were 55 sputum smear-positive index cases and 356 household contacts of index cases. The most common symptom among screening positive household contacts was cough followed by weight loss. A substantial proportion (83.8%) of symptom positive household contacts were investigated for tuberculosis and among them, 18.9% were found to be positive for tuberculosis. The overall prevalence of TB cases among household contacts was found to be 1.97%., Conclusion: The present study concludes that household contact screening for active case finding for TB is a feasible and efficient tool that can potentially result in earlier diagnosis and treatment of active TB, thus minimizing the severity and decreasing transmission. It can also contribute toward improving treatment outcomes, health sequelae, and the social and economic consequences of TB., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2020 Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.)