Baby S Nayak

Awareness of palliative care among diploma nursing students.

Background: The goal of palliative care is not to cure, but to provide comfort and maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. The knowledge of nurses influences the quality of care provided to these patients. The present study aimed at identifying the level of knowledge and attitude of nursing students who are the future caretakers of patients, which helps to make recommendations in incorporating palliative care concepts in the nursing curriculum. Objectives: (1) To assess the level of knowledge of nursing students on palliative care; (2) To identify the attitude of nursing students towards palliative care; (3) To find the correlation between the knowledge and attitude of nursing students; (4) To find the association between nursing students’ knowledge, attitude and selected demographic variables. Materials and Methods: A correlative survey was carried out among 83 third-year Diploma Nursing students by using cluster sampling method from selected nursing schools of Udupi district. Results: The data analyzed showed that the majority (51%) of them was in the age group of 21years and 92% of them were females. Only 43.4% of them were aware of the term palliative care and it was during their training period. The data showed that 79.5% of students had poor knowledge (6.4± 1.64) on palliative care and 92.8% of them had favorable attitude (56.7± 8.5) towards palliative care. The chi-square showed a significant association between knowledge and age (χ2=18.52,P<0.01) of the nursing students. Conclusion: Palliative care aspects should be incorporated in the diploma nursing curriculum.

Acupressure and physical stress among high school students

Acupressure has been found to be effective in a number of conditions. This study aims at determining the effectiveness of acupressure on physical stress among high school students. A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest control group design was used. Statistical analysis of data revealed that acupressure was effective in reducing physical stress among students within the study group (Z = −5.803, P < .001) and among students between the 2 study groups (Z = −7.409, P < .001).

Symptoms experienced by cancer patients and barriers to symptom management

Background: People living with cancer experience wide variety of symptoms. If symptoms are not managed well, it may hamper an individuals ability to continue his or her activities of daily life. Treatment of symptoms relieves suffering and improves the rate of recovery as well as the quality of life. Objectives: To assess the symptoms of suffering among cancer patients and to identify the perceived barriers to their symptom management. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 768 cancer patients selected by stratified sampling with a proportionate selection from each stratum. Data were collected from cancer patients by interview technique using structured validated questionnaire. Results: Majority of the samples (30.2%) belonged to the age group of 51–60 years, most of them were diagnosed with head and neck cancer (40.1%) and 57.7% had stage III disease. The majority of the patients studied had pain (77%), tiredness (96.5%), disturbed sleep (96.4%), weight loss (63.3%), and irritability (85.7%). Most of the patients had lack of appetite (89.4%), feeling of sadness (96.6%), worry (94.5%), and feeling of nervousness (82.8%). Majority of the patients had some misconception regarding symptoms, that is, increasing pain signifies disease progression (92.7%), medicine to control pain may weaken the immune system (89.9%) and pain is inevitable for cancer patients (78.5%). Seventy-seven percent of samples reported that the anxiety or depression is expected after the diagnosis of cancer. Conclusion: This study provides an overview of symptoms among cancer patients and barriers experienced by them.

Effectiveness of a training program for bleeding disorders among accredited social health activists in Udupi District, Karnataka, India

Hemophilia and other bleeding disorders are underreported and cause significant morbidity and mortality in resource‐constrained countries. Training and the creation of awareness among accredited social heath activists (ASHAs) will aid in the early detection of bleeding disorders at the community level.

Effect of Preoperative Education on Postoperative Outcomes Among Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Purpose: The objective of this review was to assess the effect of preoperative education on postoperative outcomes among patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Design: Systematic review and meta‐analysis. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was made on PubMed, CINAHL, Ovid, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, and the Cochrane database between 1995 and 2015. Fourteen randomized controlled trials were included. Data analysis was performed with RevMan software and created the Supplementary Appendix using the GRADE approach. Findings: Meta‐analysis showed that preoperative education reduced anxiety scores (standardized mean difference = −0.96, 95% confidence interval: −1.37, −0.54; P < .0001). However, there was no significant effect of preoperative education on pain, depression, and length of hospital stay. There is low‐quality evidence, and reasons for downgrading are due to study design limitations, inconsistency, and imprecision of effect estimates. Conclusions: The results show that preoperative education can effectively decrease anxiety in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Quality of life among cancer patients

Introduction: Cancer is a leading cause of death. People living with cancer experience a variety of symptoms. Quality of life (QOL) is a major concern of patients with terminal cancer. Symptoms affect their QOL. Management of symptoms improves distress and QOL. Objective: The objective of the study was to assess the QOL among cancer patients. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted among 768 cancer patients selected by a convenient sampling technique. Data was collected from cancer patients by interview technique using structured and validated interviewed schedule. Results: Out of 768 cancer patients, 30.2% patients were in the age group of 51–60 years, majority with head–and-neck cancer (40.1%), and 57.7% had stage III disease. QOL of majority of patients was influenced by their symptoms. 82.3% of them had low QOL scores. Conclusion: Cancer patients experienced many symptoms that affected their QOL. There is a need to develop interventions for effective management of symptoms that will empower the patients to have a greater sense of control over their illness and treatment and to improve the QOL.

Quality of life and Social Support among Children Living with HIV (CLHIV) in South India

This study was a descriptive correlational survey performed to find the quality of life and social support of children living with HIV (CLHIV). The subjects were 50 CLHIV selected using purposive sampling, living in one of the districts of South India attending ART plus centre of Distrcit hospital. Among 50 CLHIV, 23(46.1%) of the belonged to the age group of 16-18 years and 28 (56%) subjects were males. Poor quality of life was found among 30(60%) children and majority,43(86%) of the subjects were found to have low social support. Statistically significant weak positive relationship (r= .293; p =.039) between quality of life and social support of CLHIV. The present findings suggest that interventions to improve quality of life and social support could have a positive influence on CLHIV. An interventional study should be performed in future.

Mothers knowledge on malnutrition: Community based cross sectional study

Malnutrition is the major cause of many diseases and is a burden in developing countries. A childs intake can have a great impact on her/his growth and development. The mothers’ knowledge on nutrition can play a vital role in childs intake to improve nutritional status.

Knowledge among mothers’ of children and youth with hemophilia-A cross sectional survey at a hemophilia center

Introduction: Hemophilia is a genetic disease caused by deficiency of factor VIII or IX. Awareness about the disease condition among parents and children also is as important to manage the disease effectively. Objectives: To assess the knowledge on hemophilia among mothers’ of children with hemophilia and youth with hemophilia. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted at hemophilia center(Manipal, Karnataka). In total, 23 mothers’ of children and 27 youth with moderate and severe hemophilia were included. The participants were selected based on purposive sampling. Approval was taken from the ethical committee. Demographic proforma and knowledge questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data was analyzed using SPSS 16.0 version. Results: The mean age of the participants were 13.68 years. Out of 50 participants 42 had moderate and 8 had severe hemophilia. Moderate knowledge was found among 43.5% of mothers’ and 66.7% of youth with hemophilia. Conclusion: This study shows that mothers’ knowledge on hemophilia is limited and highlights the importance of continual education of parents and youth about their disease.

A portrayal of childhood injury among under- five year children

Introduction:Children and injuries are always closely associated. Injuries to children irrespective of its seriousness will affect the whole family function. One of the major reasons for childhood morbidity and mortality are injuries. Method: A cross sectional house to house survey was conducted in Udupi Taluk to identify the major types of childhood injuries. The study also tried to find the association between the age of the child and the common injuries.Results:The present study used a sample subject of 2040 for the survey. The mean age of children included in the study were 2.60 (SD + 1.16) years. Majority of children included in the survey were males 52.5%. The overall injury identified in survey was 14%. Fall from stairs (92%), burn with hot water/food (41%), injury with a sharp knife (72%), accidental ingestion of medicine (3%), injury during play (94%) and foreign body in ear and nose (79%) were identified as the most common injuries among children of 2 to 5 years.Conclusion:This article establishes the need for a detailed prevalence survey. A detailed survey will help in planning an intervention for caregivers which can reduce the injuries in children.