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Background: Most adolescents lack access to age- and sex-appropriate health information which is vital for young people to make informed decisions about their reproductive sexual health. Objectives: The study objective was to study the effectiveness of the interventional reproductive and sexual health education on knowledge, attitude, and menstrual practices of school-going adolescent girls. Materials and Methods: It was an interventional study consisting of a pretest, intervention session, and posttest conducted among 400 school-going adolescent girls in a rural area of Maharashtra. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in knowledge, attitude, and practice median scores following intervention (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Age- and sex-appropriate health education programs can facilitate the development of healthy reproductive and sexual behavior patterns among adolescents through the enhancement of knowledge and development of right attitude.

Background: Adolescents have many misconceptions regarding reproductive and sexual health and lack access to age and gender appropriate health information. So, they find out about the same from inauthentic sources of information. Attitudes and decisions based on such information greatly influence a woman’s health. Objectives: This study was carried out to study the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding reproductive and sexual health and to study the sources used to obtain information on reproductive and sexual health. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 400 schools going adolescent girls in rural area of Maharashtra. Self-structured and pre-tested questionnaire was used to assess their knowledge and attitude regarding reproductive and sexual health and study menstrual practices. Results: Total 400 adolescent girls participated in the study. The knowledge and attitude of 164 (41.0%) and 315 (78.8%) participants respectively was poor. The menstrual practices of 271 (67.8%) participants were poor. Conclusion: The knowledge, attitude and practices regarding reproductive and sexual health of more than half the participants was poor. For development of healthy attitudes and practices, age and gender appropriate health education is a must.

Introduction: Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder that appears in adolescents. It has an adverse effect on physical as well as mental health. Many adolescents remain undiagnosed due to no accessibility to clinics. Objectives: To study demographic factors and their association with depression among adolescents of rural Maharashtra. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 300 students (30 of either sex from 8th to 12th class). 6 item KADS (Kutcher Adolescent Depression Scale), BG Prasad’s modified socioeconomic scale and demographic data were collected from volunteers. Results: 6.66% of students were screened positive for depression by the scale. No statistical difference was found in number of students with depression with respect to sex, class and socioeconomic status. However the residence and type of family showed significant difference in number students of depression. Conclusion: the KADS is a good screening tool for depression and should be implemented for adolescents studying in rural areas for prevention and early treatment of depression.

Maternal depression is a major public health problem in low- and middle-income countries including India. Very few studies have assessed association of various risk factors with antenatal depression in rural Indian women, especially the effect of marital conflict, gender disadvantage and gender preference on antenatal depression. This paper describes the prevalence of probable antenatal depression in rural Maharashtra, a state in the western part of India and specifically assesses the association of marital and gender disadvantage factors and gender preference for a male child with antenatal depression. Primary Health Centre-based cross-sectional survey of antenatal women in rural Maharashtra was carried out. The outcome of interest was a probable diagnosis of depression in antenatal women which was measured using the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale (EPDS). Data were analyzed using simple and multiple logistic regression. 302 women in their antenatal period were included in this study. The outcome of antenatal depression (EPDS > 12) was found in 51 women (16.9%, 95% CI 12.6–21.1%). Feeling pressurized to deliver a male child was strongly associated with the outcome of antenatal depression (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 3.0; 95% CI 1.4–6.5). Unsatisfactory reaction of in-laws to dowry (adjusted OR 11.2; 95% CI 2.4–52.9) and difficult relationship with in-laws (adjusted OR 5.3; 95% CI 2.4–11.6) were also significantly associated with antenatal depression. Our findings demonstrate that antenatal depression in rural women of Western Maharashtra is associated with gender disadvantage factors, especially related to preference for a male child. The agenda to improve maternal mental health should be ultimately linked to address the broader social development goals and gender empowerment.

Background: The global annual incidence of Tuberculosis (TB) is 9 million cases of which estimated 2.3 million cases occur in India. In many parts of India, the private sector has remained alienated from Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) implementation; hence, case detection has remained low. The performance of Taluka Rahata in terms of TB control was poorest before the year 2000; RNTCP was started in Taluka Rahata on 24th March 2001. From 2001-2010, there was improvement in the performance but was not satisfactory. Hence, present study is an attempt to devise strategy, to increase awareness and involvement of private practitioners in Revised National TB Control Programme in a rural area of Rahata Taluka. Aim: To adopt strategies to improve the awareness and increase involvement of Private Practitioners about RNTCP in Rahata Taluka of Ahmednagar district. Setting & Design: It is an Interventional study conducted in Rahata Taluka of District Ahmednagar from June to November by giving personal visits to all the Private Medical Practitioners of Rahata Taluka at their workplace. Materials and Methods: Personal visit was given to 143 private medical practitioners at their workplace. Workshop used as the major strategy was arranged as per RNTCP guidelines. Health education material was distributed. Statistical analysis: Tables, proportions, diagrams and standard error of difference between two proportions z-test. Results: Out of the 148 PMPs, 143 could be covered by giving personal visits to their clinic for pre-interventional assessment.110 (76.93%) were males while 33 (23.07%) were females. The mean age of PMPs was 41.60 y. Around 60 percentages of PMPs were non- allopathic practitioners. Sensitization workshop was attended by 132 PMPs. Though no significant difference was observed in their assessment regarding etiology about TB, a significant and highly significant value was obtained after assessing their KAP regarding their diagnosis & referral for sputum diagnosis, categorization and treatment, DOTS provider and TB case management. Conclusion: The PMPs due to its non-involvement and nonreinforcement are lagging with the update knowledge. The PMPs who have attained their higher qualification before implementation of RNTCP (before year 2001) are in majority unaware of RNTCP Recommendations: Public-Private partnership involving PMPs & private hospitals need to be strengthened by additional inputs in the form of incentives, free IEC materials and periodic modular training in RNTCP.

Hospital-acquired infection (HAI) in healthcare settings is the most frequent adverse event in healthcare delivery worldwide. Hundreds of millions of patients are affected by HAI worldwide each year, leading to significant patient mortality rates and financial losses for health systems. We evaluated the impact of a sensitization workshop on knowledge and awareness of HAI among nurses in a medical college hospital in rural area of Ahmednagar district, India from March 2010 to August 2010. One hundred staff nurses, who had more than one year of experience, had attended the workshops on HAI. Pre- and post-test data was collected by a questionnaire. A significant increase in number of nurses having knowledge regarding commonly occurring HAI and routes of transmission , barrier nursing and hygienic hand washing techniques, hospital waste management (its importance and color coding), and the im-portance of an infection control team was observed after the workshop. Education and training of healthcare workers about standard infection control can reduce the extent of risks of HAI. Nurses have a critical role to play in preven-tion measures and infection control and they should have the opportunity for continuous professional development. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/seajph.v2i2.15960 South East Asia J Public Health | Jul-Dec 2012 | Vol 2 Issue 2 | 77-79

Introduction: Increasing stress on school children has become a matter of national concern in India. The success of currently applied remedial policies is doubtful. A change in methods of imparting education is strongly felt. Aims: To study the socio demographic profile of junior college students in Loni, a rural area in state of Maharashtra, India. Assess the association of these factors with depression, anxiety and stress in the students. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out in 360 students of P.V.P Arts, Science and Commerce Junior College in Loni. Stratified Random Sampling was used for selection of 120 students (equal number of girls and boys) each from arts, science and commerce streams. The questionnaire consisted of general information and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS). Statistical analysis was done to calculate percentage, mean, standard deviation and Z values of DASS scores. Results: Choice of stream, class, place of residence, change in language of education, income, education of parents, previous grades, peer pressure, burden of expectations, access to educational, recreational and public health resources have an important relationship with depression, anxiety and stress in students Conclusions: Depression, anxiety and stress in junior college students results due to multiple factors and mere change in examination scheme will not resolve this issue. The interventions aimed at reducing stress in students need to take these factors into account while formulating national policies. A Study of Socio Demographic Factors and their Association with Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Junior College Students in a Rural Area of India

Background: Cervical cancer caused by infection with a sexually transmitted agent human papillomavirus (HPV), can be readily prevented by identifying and treating women with HPV-induced precancerous lesions of the cervix. Objective: To study the profile of cervical smear cytology in rural women in western Maharashtra. Methods: The study was designed to look at the previous reports of the Pap smear present at the health center Pravaranagar in rural area of Western Maharashtra. The reports of 186 smears were analyzed. Results: Maximum numbers of the women (70.43%) were less than 40 years of age. Â Majority of the women were from lower socio-economic status. There were 29.03 % Pap smears, negative for intraepithelial lesion. Intraepithelial neoplasia of various grade and invasive cervical carcinoma were diagnosed in some cases. Other infections were also detected on Pap smear like bacterial vaginosis, candidial infection and trichomonas vaginalis infestation. Conclusion: An Awareness and education program needs to be implemented to target women about cervical cancer and Pap smear screening. The goal of any screening programme should be to pick up majority of the precursor lesions and not frank cancers; it is desirable to initiate Pap smear screening in women from lower socio-economic status before the 40 years of age.

Background About 2 million episodes of diarrhoea occur each year in India. Of the 6.6 million deaths among children aged 28 days to 5 year; deaths from diarrhoea are estimated to account for 1.87 million. An average Indian child less than 5 years of age can have 2-3 episodes of diarrhoea. Mother's literacy, family income, feeding practices, environmental conditions are important determinants of the common childhood infection like diarrhoea. The present study was undertaken to study these important determinants of recurrent diarrhoea among children under five in a rural area of western Maharashtra, India. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted in six randomly selected villages of Ahmednagar district in western Maharashtra, India. Three villages from two primary health centres and 652 children under five from these villages were chosen by a simple random sampling technique (every fifth child enrolled in Anganwadi). House-to-house survey was done and data was collected by interviewing the mothers of these children. Nutritional status was assessed by measuring the weight and mid-arm circumference of the child. Statistical analysis was done with Microsoft Excel and StatistiXL 1.8 using percentage, proportions and chi-square test wherever applicable. Results The prevalence of recurrent diarrhoea was 9.81%. Recurrent diarrhoea was more common in the age group of 13 - 24 months (29.6%) and 25 - 36 months (23.4%) and children belonging to lower socioeconomic class (64%). Malnutrition was significantly associated with recurrent diarrhoea and 21% of malnourished children had the same. Recurrent diarrhoea was significantly more common (39.1%) among children with introduction of top-up feeds before four to six months. Conclusion Low socioeconomic status, bad sanitary practices, nutritional status and weaning practices significantly influence the prevalence of recurrent diarrhoea.

Background: The most recent estimates from World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that 47.8% of global blindness is due to cataract. Cataract has been documented to be the most significant cause of bilateral blindness in India. The most recent estimates from WHO reveal that 47.8% of global blindness is due to cataract and in south Asia region which includes India, 51% of blindness is due to cataract. In India cataract is the principal cause of blindness accounting for 62.6% cases of blindness. The key to the success of the Global Vision 2020: The right to sight initiative is a special effort to tackle cataract blindness which includes estimation of magnitude of the problem and understanding factors associated with it. Therefore, a study was conducted in the hospital to estimate the magnitude of cataract and study various epidemiological factors associated with it. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary health center in rural area. Total 746 patients who availed services from ophthalmology department during study period were included in the study and relevant data was collected from them. Data analysis was done by percentages, proportions, and tests of significance (Chi-square test). Results: Out of 746 patients, 400 (53.6%) were suffering from cataract. Senile cataract was the most common cause (54%). Fifty-five percent patients were in the age group of 60-80 years and majority of them were from low socioeconomic strata. Conclusion: The prevalence of cataract in a medical college hospital in rural area was 53.6%. Age, sex, and educational status were significantly associated with cataract.

Background: Since doctors represent a significant human resource within a country, improving and preserving their health, is a form of preservation of a national resource. Doctors generally have difficulty maintaining a healthy lifestyle and good health practices. Aims & Objective: (1) To study dietary habits of the medical students. (2) To study the levels of physical activity. (3) To study the prevalence of addictive habits among the students. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted to assess the lifestyle practices of students of RMC, Loni. Self-structured pre-tested questionnaires were given to 266 students for study purpose. Results: Out of all students that participated in study, 68 (25.56%) were from first year, 93 (34.96%) from second year and 105 (39.47%) belonging to third year. Out of all participants, only 12.78% eat fruits daily. Daily junk food consumption was seen in 24.81% students and more than half (57.14%) tend to skip meals. Out of 92.10% students who perform physical activity in their leisure time, only 31.83% exercise adequately. Conclusion: It is important to emphasize on the value of healthy lifestyles in medical colleges if the students are to value the importance of a healthy lifestyle for themselves and for their subsequent patients.