Joy Bazroy

Effectiveness of mind mapping technique in information retrieval among medical college students in Puducherry-A pilot study

Background: The traditional teaching learning methods involve a one way process of transmission of knowledge leaving the students lacking behind in creative abilities. Medical schools need to change their teaching strategies to keep the interest of students and empower them for future self- learning and critical thinking. Objective: To assess the impact of mind mapping technique in information retrieval among medical college students in Puducherry. Methods: A pilot study was conducted using experimental study design among sixth semester MBBS students (n = 64) at a medical college in Puducherry, India. One group (n = 32) followed the text reading method and another group (n = 32) followed the mind mapping technique to learn the same passage given to them. The knowledge about the topic was assessed using a pre designed questionnaire at baseline, day 0 and day 7. The knowledge gain is the primary outcome variable and is compared between two groups. The feedback regarding the teaching methods was obtained from the participants. Results: Mean knowledge score in the text group was lesser than the mind map group at baseline (2.6 Vs 3.5; p = 0.08). On Day 0, the mean score in text group was slightly lesser than the mind map group (8.7 Vs 9.0; p = 0.26). On Day 7, the mean score in mind map group is significantly more than the text group (8.9 Vs 8.5; p = 0.03). Conclusion: The mind mapping technique is an innovative and effective method in remembering things better than the routine way of reading texts.

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students in Pondicherry, South India

Context: The adolescent period of human life is one of the vital times when most of the body growth and development occur. Nearly 35% of the global burden of disease has its root emergence in adolescence. Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Aims: The present study aims to measure the prevalence of overweight and obesity among adolescent students (aged 10-18 years) in Pondicherry. Settings and Design: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among 10-18-year-old students in Pondicherry. The study was conducted among 2,465 students from 5 schools and 2 polytechnic colleges. Materials and Methods: The students were classified as overweight or obese based on the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) age- and gender-specific body mass index (BMI) guidelines. Statistical Analysis Used: Data entry was done in MS Excel 2013 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used for the statistical analysis. Chi-square test was used to identify statistical difference in proportions. Results: The study results showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity in our study population was 9.7% and 4.3%, respectively. There was no difference in prevalence between males and females. The prevalence of overweight/obesity increased as the age advanced. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight and obesity was predominant among the students of private schools in the urban region in our study population.

Visual impairment among 10–14-year school children in Puducherry: A cross-sectional study

Introduction: According to the 2010 estimates by the World Health Organization, nearly 285 million (4.24% of total population) people of all ages worldwide are visually impaired. Almost 18.9 million children under 15 years of age are visually impaired globally. In developing countries, 7%–31% of childhood blindness and visual impairment is avoidable. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted as a cross-sectional study among 1884 school students in Puducherry, in the age group of 10–14 years. A child with presenting maximum vision ≤6/12 Snellen equivalent in the better eye is considered visually impaired. Data were entered in Microsoft Excel 2013 and analyzed using the statistical software SPSS version 21.0. Chi-square test was applied for testing difference in proportion and a P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The overall prevalence of visual impairment (vision ≤6/12) among the study participants was 6.37% (95% confidence interval = 5.27–7.47). The prevalence of visual impairment increased with age and it was found to be high among male students (6.6%) when compared to female students (6%). Presenting vision of 6/6 was observed in 79.8% of the children while with pinhole correction, the proportion increased to 94.6%. Conclusion: The prevalence of visual impairment in our study population was found to be 6.37% and the prevalence was even higher among children who belonged to schools of urban region or private schools. Children with a positive family history of spectacle use were more likely to have visual impairment.

Diet and exercise in obesity: A case report from India

Obesity is an excess of body fat, resulting in adverse health effects. Obesity has emerged as a major public health problem. A rural mother aged 58 years, a widow for the past 29 years, presented to the chest clinic with complaints of breathlessness, snoring, and excessive sleepiness. Diet and exercise along with counseling for a lifestyle change made her lose 7% of body weight. Obesity is a public health problem with multiple risk factors, and so its management is complex. This sheds light on a nonpharmacological approach for the management of obesity.