Search

Introduction: A structured dedicated health programme for Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has been initiated in the state of West Bengal, India. Aim: The aim is to provide comprehensive healthcare to all children, adolescents and young adults living with T1DM, along with the provision of free supply of insulin, glucose measuring devices, blood glucose test strips, and other logistics. The strategic framework for programme implementation is to utilise the infrastructure and manpower of the already existing non-communicable disease (NCD) clinic under National Health Mission. Methodology: Establishing dedicated T1DM clinics in each district hospital by utilising existing healthcare delivery systems, intensive training and hand-holding of named human resources; providing comprehensive healthcare service and structured diabetes education to all T1DM patients; and building an electronic registry of patients are important components of the programme. T1DM clinics run once a week on the same day throughout the state. All T1DM patients are treated with the correct dose of insulin, both human regular insulin and glargine insulin. Patients are routinely monitored monthly to ensure good glycaemic control and prevent complications of the disease. Routine anthropometric examination and required laboratory investigations are conducted in the set-up of the already existing NCD clinic. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the T1DM programme are being conducted in terms of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) values, growth and development, complication rates, psychological well-being, quality of life, and direct and indirect expenditure incurred by families. Through this programme, any bottlenecks or gaps in service delivery will be identified and corrective measures will be adopted to ensure better health outcomes for those living with T1DM.

Abstract Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem. Electronic empowerment has several positive impacts on health. No study has examined whether electronic empowerment prevents intimate partner violence. Economic empowerment has positive and negative effects on IPV victimization. The current study was conducted to investigate whether economic and electronic empowerment of women act as protective factors against IPV in India. Methods A national representative sample of 66,013 ever-married women from 36 member states and union territories of India has been used from the National Family Health Survey 2015 to 2016. Emotional, physical and sexual violence against women by husbands were target variables. We used bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results The prevalence of emotional violence was 13%, physical violence was 28% and sexual violence was 7%. IPV against women was as follows: The prevalence was higher among women living in rural areas, belonging to Hindu religion and those belonging to Scheduled Castes. Higher education and higher socio-economic status were found to be protective factors against IPV. The prevalence of IPV was higher among the working women, among those having knowledge of business loans for women and the recipients of such business loans. Exposure to media was found to reduce IPV. The women who used mobile phones and SMS facility experienced less violence. Conclusion Economic independence of women was found to be a risk factor for IPV in India, whereas electronic empowerment was a protective factor. In the Indian context, policymakers should make use of mobile phones and support SMS use in the IPV awareness programs. Women empowerment, combined with gender equity, can reduce the prevalence of violence against women.

Abstract Background Community misperception on newborn care and poor treatment of sick newborn attributes to neonatal death and illness severity. Misperceptions and malpractices regarding neonatal care and neonatal complications are the leading causes of neonatal deaths in Bangladesh. The study was conducted to explore neonatal care’s perceptions and practices and manage complications among Bangladesh’s rural communities. Methods A qualitative study was conducted in Netrakona district of Bangladesh from April to June 2015. Three sub-districts (Upazilas) including Purbadhala, Durgapur and Atpara of Netrakona district were selected purposively. Five focus group discussions (FGDs) and twenty in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted in the rural community. Themes were identified through reading and re-reading the qualitative data and thematic analysis was performed. Results Community people were far behind, regarding the knowledge of neonatal complications. Most of them felt that the complications occurred due to lack of care by the parents. Some believed that mothers did not follow the religious customs after delivery, which affected the newborns. Many of them followed the practice of bathing the newborns and cutting their hair immediately after birth. The community still preferred to receive traditional treatment from their community, usually from Kabiraj (traditional healer), village doctor, or traditional birth attendant. Families also refrained from seeking treatment from the health facilities during neonatal complications. Instead, they preferred to wait until the traditional healers or village doctors recommended transferring the newborn. Conclusions Poor knowledge, beliefs and practices are the key barriers to ensure the quality of care for the newborns during complications. The communities still depend on traditional practices and the level of demand for facility care is low. Appropriate interventions focusing on these issues might improve the overall neonatal mortality in Bangladesh.

Introduction: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent complete lockdown have resulted in a lot of difficulties in availing essential services including medical care, especially among the persons living with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). The situation was complicated by stress and fear due to unknown nature of the pandemic during initial phases. This study aimed at measuring the perceived stress and hardship faced by persons living with DM and assessing their health status during COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in a tertiary care hospital in West Bengal. Materials and Methods: An institution-based, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted among diagnosed cases of Type 2 DM attending diabetic clinic outpatient department using an interview technique with the help of a predesigned pretested questionnaire that consisted of variables such as perpetual and experiential stress, hardship, and selected self-reported health parameters. Results: Out of a total of 304 study participants, majority responded positively regarding the items of perpetual and experiential stress. However, 80.8% of participants reported the reduction of income, and about 75% of them faced hardship of various extent to manage medicine and diet with low income. Only 9.1% of participants used teleconsultation as a sole method for health checkups. About one-third of participants considered their mental health status as poor or very poor, whereas two-third considered their physical health as good or excellent. Conclusion: Although our study participants did not have much stress or deterioration of health during lockdown, their income and regular care were affected to a certain extent. This emphasizes the need for context-specific measures.

Background: The present study was conducted to estimate the prevalence rate of domestic violence against women and examine the socio-demographic status of the victims of domestic violence in India. The study also examined the differences in the prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual violence against ever-married women over ten years (2005 - 2015) in all member states in India. Methods: The study used secondary data from NFHS-3 (2005-06) and NFHS-4 (2015-16). Cross-tabulation and multivariate analyses were performed. IBM SPSS V25 was used for data analysis. Results: The prevalence of domestic violence against married women in India in 2015 was as follows: emotional violence, 13%; physical violence, 28%; and sexual violence, 7%. Rajasthan achieved the highest decline in the prevalence of domestic violence against women over the last ten years since 2005. In addition, younger age, urban residence, lower level of education and lower socioeconomic status were essential predictors of domestic violence. Conclusions: There should be an improvement in female education, awareness generation regarding their rights, and better social support to reduce the prevalence of violence against women. In addition, engaging men in the fight against domestic violence could bring positive results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]