Panna Lal

A study of awareness about HIV/AIDS among senior secondary school children of Delhi

School children of today are exposed to the risk of being victims of HIV/AIDS - which was quite unknown to their predecessors a few decades ago. The epidemic of HIV/AIDS is now progressing at a rapid pace among young people. Studies have reported that young people form a significant segment of those attending sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinics and those infected by HIV.(1) Programme managers and policy makers have often recommended that schools can act at the center point for disseminating information and education on HIV/AIDS. Hence school education has been described as a ‘social vaccine’, and it can serve as a powerful preventive tool. In India, there is a wide gap between the inputs in the HIV/AIDS curriculum for schools and the actual education that is imparted.(2) As children are a valuable resource for the future of a country, it is imperative that they be equipped with ample amount of information so as to protect themselves and their counterparts from falling a prey this still-an-incurable killer disease. With this background, the present study was conducted with the following objectives: (i) To assess the awareness of school children regarding HIV/AIDS; (ii) to provide suggestions for school AIDS education.

Drug prescribing pattern of interns at a government healthcare centre in northern India.

Prescribing habits of interns posted at a primary health centre for a period of 2 months (January 1994 and February 1994) were studied. Among the 1457 prescriptions collected, the average number of drugs per prescription was 2.47. The commonest groups of drugs prescribed were antibiotics (33.9%), analgesics and anti-inflammatories (17.0%), vitamins (13.0%), cough syrups (10.5%) and antihistamines (8.6%). The use of injectables was uncommon (0.9%). Most of the drugs prescribed were from the local drugs list of the centre (84.2%) consisting of 36 drugs. The list contained 20 drugs with proprietary names of which six were fixed-dose combinations. The local drug list needs modification. The proportion of drugs prescribed by generic name was 49.5%. As per Kunins criteria, 57.9% of the antibiotics used were appropriate. Interns often forget to write the diagnosis (43%), signs and symptoms (50.2%), dosages and frequency of treatment. The result of this baseline study may be useful in promoting the education necessary in order to achieve the objectives of good prescribing.

A community-based cervical cancer screening program among women of Delhi using camp approach.

Background: Cervical cancer is the commonest malignancy among women in developing countries. Cytological screening (Pap smear) have been claimed to reduce incidence and mortality of carcinoma cervix significantly for which sensitization of women is required through community-based approach. Objectives: To find out number of cervical cancer cases among patients reporting to a general health care camp through screening program and study the prevalence of perceived morbidity and its confirmation. Settings: Cross-sectional study among women attending cancer awareness camps. Materials and Methods: A total of 435 women attending cancer awareness camps were screened for carcinoma cervix. The findings of history and clinical examination were recorded. Pap smears of all the symptomatic patients were collected and cytological diagnosis was confirmed by a pathologist. Results and Conclusions: The perceived gynecological morbidity was observed to be 59.8%. The smear of the women who were suspected of carcinoma on clinical examination was confirmed to be the cases of carcinoma-in-situ (7.8%) and high-grade neoplasia (2.9%) on laboratory investigations. The findings of the study highlight the utility and need of cancer cervix screening among the women at regular intervals through camp approach in the community.

Prevalence of reproductive tract infections and their determinants in married women residing in an urban slum of North-East Delhi, India

Background: Reproductive tract infections (RTIs) have adverse implications on the health of the women. Community-based studies in India have shown a high prevalence of RTIs but here is a lack of sizeable literature from urban slums and resettlement areas. Aims and Objectives: The objective was to document the prevalence and determinants of RTIs in married women (15-49 years) residing in an urban slum in Delhi, India. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in an urban resettlement colony of Gokulpuri in the North-East district of Delhi. Systematic random sampling method was adopted to choose the study subjects, that is, married and non-pregnant women in the reproductive age group (15-49 years) residing in the study area. Data were collected using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire, through the house to house visits. The diagnosis of RTIs was made as per the World Health Organization syndromic approach. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 16 (Chicago, IL, USA). Results: A total of 802 women were interviewed. The mean age of study subjects was 30.79 ± 7 years. A total of 352 (43.9%) women currently had symptoms of RTIs. The most frequently reported symptoms included abdominal pain (68.2%), back pain (69.6%), and vaginal discharge (59.3%). Older women (≥25 years) (odds ratio [OR] 2.2, 95% confidence interval [CI]; 1.4-3.5), those belonging to the lower socioeconomic status (OR 2.1, 95% CI; 1.5-2.9), those using cloth during menses (OR 2.6, 95% CI; 1.6-4.3), those having more than three pregnancies (OR 1.8, 95% CI; 1.2-2.6) and those using an intrauterine contraceptive device (OR 11.8, 95% CI; 4.3-32.0) had higher odds of having RTIs. Conclusions: A high case load was found based on the syndromic approach. Generating community awareness, ensuring proper menstrual hygiene, and improving the socioeconomic status would help in reducing the cases of RTI.

Awareness about Birth Registration in a Resettlement Colony of Delhi

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is more than a decade old, but even today more than a third of all children are denied the right to an identity. Birth registration is the first legal document in which the name of the child gets entered along with the name of the parents. Globally, every year about 40 million children are born without being registered. Six out of ten unregistered newborns are in South and South-east Asia.(1) The registration of births and deaths in India was made compulsory under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969. However, the current level of birth registration in India is 63.8% as per the latest 2005 provisional national estimates, which means that out of the estimated 26 million births taking place each year, approximately 9.4 million children (36.2%) go unregistered every year.(2) Taking these facts into consideration, this study was planned to assess the awareness about birth registration in an urban slum of Delhi.

Knowledge assessment regarding poliomyelitis among the caregivers of children who received oral polio vaccine reveals lack of awareness of the vaccine vial monitor (VVM): Implications extending beyond polio eradication

Vaccine vial monitor (VVM) is now commonly used for vaccines that are included in the National Immunization Schedule in India. It helps to indicate the viability of the vaccine and of the proper functioning of the cold chain. This is useful as it prevents health personnel from administering damaged vaccine. Studies have shown a lack of awareness of health workers regarding the use and interpretation of a VVM. The current study, undertaken among the caregivers of children who were immunized, showed that this lack of information about the VVM also exists among the caregivers. This deficiency in knowledge, both in the health workers and the caregivers, can affect the health of the child and needs urgent attention.

Prevalence of induced abortions and contraceptive use among married women in an urban slum of Delhi, India

To document abortion practices and contraceptive use among women of reproductive age in an urban slum of Delhi.

Concepts of spirituality prevailing among undergraduate medical students in Delhi

Background: Spirituality is considered one of the determinants of health. Various studies have documented its role in the management of psychological illnesses such as schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. Doctors often lack skills to do spiritual assessment of the patients. Aim: The current study was conducted among the 1st year undergraduate medical students to find out their ideas and thoughts about spirituality using self-administered questionnaire. Methodology: This was a college based cross sectional study wherein 168 students were interviewed using semistructured, self administered questionnaire. Ethical clearance was obtained from Institutional ethical committee.Results: Most of the students (93.5%) believed in spirituality, but only about half (49%) of them had complete knowledge about it. Only psychological disorders and chronic diseases were labeled by students who need spirituality as a modality of treatment. Girls linked spirituality with God more than boys. A formal training in spirituality is not essential according to 43% of the subjects. Conclusion: The undergraduates need to understand the importance of this dimension of health. A mere gain in knowledge about spiritual strength available in some of the textbooks would not be able to orient doctors sufficiently to apply it in their practice. Future Direction: Skill building and practicing the culture of spiritual counseling among health workers is the need of hour.

Post-Diwali morbidity survey in a resettlement colony of Delhi

Background: Diwali is an occasion when many people get injured or burnt. Most of the data on morbidity profile of the communities is the hospital-based and there is a lack of community-based surveys. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-section survey conducted in the resettlement colony of Gokalpuri, Delhi, after Diwali in the month of November and December, 2013. A total of 406 households were interviewed with questions on demographic details, any injuries suffered post-Diwali and the treatment sought thereafter. Results: In the population of 1826 surveyed, only 148 (8.1%) suffered from any problem this Diwali. Majority of the participants (105; 70.9%) had respiratory complaints ranging from mild cough and wheeze to asthmatic attack while 24 (16.2%) suffered burns on any part of the body. Eighty four (56.7%) people who suffered any problem post-Diwali didn′t do anything for the problem, rather left it to get well on its own. Only 32 persons had gone to health center for treatment. Conclusion: In the current study, prevalence of post-Diwali morbidity was 8.1%. The observed prevalence in the current study is much higher than that reported in a hospital based retrospective study by Tandon et al. from Delhi which collected data from 2002 to 2010 and where the incidence was one patient with firecracker-related injury per 100,000 population of the city.