Rekha T

Perceptions and Practices of Self-Medication among Medical Students in Coastal South India

Self-medication is a common practice worldwide and the irrational use of drugs is a cause of concern. This study assessed the prevalence of self-medication among the medical students in South India. The data was analysed using SPSS version 11.5. A total of 440 students were included in the study. The prevalence of self-medication was 78.6%. A larger number of females were self-medicating (81.2%) than males (75.3%). The majority of the students self-medicated because of the illness being too trivial for consultation (70.5%). Antipyretics were most commonly self–medicated by the participants (74.8%). Only 47% of the participants opined that self-medication was a part of self-care and it needs to be encouraged. 39.3% of the participants perceived that the supply of medicine without prescription by the pharmacist can prevent the growing trend of self-medication. Easy availability and accessibility to health care facilities remains the cornerstone for reducing the practice of self-medication.

Awareness and Attitude of the General Public Toward HIV/ AIDS in Coastal Karnataka

Objective: To assess the awareness and attitude of the general public toward people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Mangalore, a city in Coastal Karnataka. Design: Community-based cross-sectional study. Materials and Methods: The study population included 630 individuals aged 18 years and above. The information was collected using a semi structured pre-tested questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of 24 questions regarding awareness of the modes of transmission of HIV/AIDS (nine questions) and questions to assess the attitude toward People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) (15 questions). Statistical package SPSS version 11.5 was used, Chi-square test was conducted and P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: About one-third of the study population thought that one could get infected by merely touching an HIV positive individual. Approximately 45% stated that they would dismiss their maid on finding out her HIV positive status. About 54% were willing to undergo the HIV test. The respondents with less than secondary school education had a discriminatory attitude toward HIV positive people, with regard to them deserving to suffer, dismissing a HIV positive maid, hesitating to sit next to a HIV positive person in the bus, divorcing the infected spouse, and willingness to get tested for HIV, which was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Stigma among the general public was mostly due to fear of contracting the illness. Stigma does exist to significant degrees among the educated people, which was suggested by about 45% of the participants being willing to undergo the HIV test. There is a need for greater attempts toward making information regarding HIV/AIDS available to every individual of the society.

Compliance with iron-folic acid (IFA) therapy among pregnant women in an urban area of south India

BACKGROUND Anaemia is highly prevalent among pregnant women and iron deficiency is the most important cause. Like many other countries, India has policies to give pregnant women iron supplements. Non-compliance is one important challenging factor in combating anaemia. OBJECTIVE To estimate the compliance for IFA tablets among pregnant women and to study the social factors influencing it. METHODOLOGY This study included 190 pregnant women seeking ante-natal care in tertiary health Centres in the Mangalore city in South India. After Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) approval, data was collected by personal interview. Missing ≥2 doses consecutively was considered non-compliance. The data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 11.5. RESULTS The mean age of the study population was 25.8 years (SD: 4.1). Majority of the subjects consumed mixed diet and 72.1% belonged to lower socioeconomic status. Overall, compliance with IFA tablets was 64.7%. Compliance increased with the increase in age, birth order and single daily dose. Forgetfulness and both perceived as well as experienced side effects of IFA therapy were the important factors for non-compliance. CONCLUSION There was a moderate level of Compliance towards IFA tablets with key social and demographic factors playing important role.

Clinico-epidemiological profile of burn patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital in coastal South India.

Every year a substantial proportion of deaths in India occur due to burn injuries. Prolonged morbidity as well as temporary and permanent disability due to burns results in a heavy economic loss. The etiological factors of burn injuries vary considerably in different communities and regions and hence the need for detailed epidemiological studies to understand the problem status in different regions. This study was aimed to study the sociodemographic profile of burn patients and to evaluate the causes, manner, and place of occurrence of burns injuries along with its outcome. A registry-based retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in coastal South India, and the medical records of all the patients admitted to the burns centre during the year 2009 were reviewed. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. A total of 101 burn patients were admitted during the study period. The burn patients were aged between 4 months and 80 years with a mean age of 32.11 (± 3.46) years. The overall male to female ratio was 0.83:1. Majority of the patients were Hindus and were married. Flame burns were the most common etiology for sustaining burns (82.2%). Most of the burn injuries were sustained at home (n = 81, 80.2%), and the manner was designated as accidental in 79.2% of the cases. The TBSA involvement in burns ranged from 5 to 100% and the mean TBSA was found to be 45.8 ± 24.7%. A higher TBSA involvement is associated with an increased risk of mortality and this association between TBSA and mortality was found to be statistically significant (P < .05). Mortality rate in our study was 40.9%. Septicemia (n = 24, 63.2%) was the most common cause of death followed by shock (n = 12, 31.6%). Higher mortality is found to be associated with female sex, suicides, and flame burns. This study identifies the epidemiological and clinical features associated with burn injuries in coastal South India. Majority of the burn victims in our study were married females of younger age group. Although the manner of sustaining burns was mostly accidental, females were proportionately more commonly the victims of suicides and homicides than males. Injuries and deaths due to burns are preventable, provided a community-specific preventive program is implemented with a strong educational component.

Perceptions and attitudes towards organ donation among people seeking healthcare in tertiary care centers of coastal south India

Background: Organ transplantation is the most preferred treatment modality for end-stage organ diseases. The need for the transplants is higher than the availability. Prerequisites for the success of transplantation program include awareness and positive attitudes. Aim: To assess the perceptions and attitudes of the people seeking health care in tertiary care centers towards organ donation in Mangalore, India. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study included 863 people seeking general healthcare as outpatients. Materials and Methods: Face to face interviews were carried out using pretested tools which included the socio demographic data. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 11.5. Results: Overall, 59.6% participants showed the willingness to donate organs. Females (64.1%) and participants from upper socio economic status (62.7%) had higher willingness rates for organ donations. Hindus (63.6%) and Christians (63.3%) had higher willingness rates for organ donations than Muslims (38.2%). Also, 23.7% participants showed willingness to donate eyes and 33.6% wished to donate any organ after death. Most of the participants (67%) were aware that money should not be accepted for donating organs, and 58.1% were aware that it is an offence to accept any benefit for organ donations. Forty percent participants had perceived risks associated with organ donation. Regarding donor cards, 42.3% of the participants knew about it and 3.7% already possessed it. Conclusion: It is apparent from the study that though there was high level of awareness about organ donation, a high proportion of the participants did not have positive attitudes towards organ donation.

Trends and indications for Caesarean Section in a tertiary care obstetric hospital in coastal South India.

An increase in the Caesarean Section (CS) rates is a concern in the health care systems all over the world. In a developing country, an increase in the CS rate has major implications on the limited health care resources. A hospital based retrospective study was carried out in a tertiary government-run hospital specializing in Obstetrics & Gynaecology & all deliveries conducted from Jan 1 st 2009 to Dec 31 st 2009 were included. There were 7543 deliveries in the study period, with 1756 being CS, giving a rate of 23.27%. There is an increasing trend of caesarean section from 2005 (20.24%) to 2009 (23.27%) in our hospital. Most of the CSs were performed with previous CS as the indication. Foetal distress, breech presentation and failed induction was the other non-absolute indications. Placenta praevia and malpresentations were the most common absolute indications of CS.

Perceptions and practices regarding use of personal listening devices among medical students in coastal south India.

UNLABELLED Todays generation enjoys having music at their fingertips. This has led to an increase in the usage of personal listening devices (PLDs) over the past decade. There are significant concerns regarding harmful effects of PLD use. To find out the perception and practice of medical students regarding use of PLDs. Cross-sectional study was carried out in Mangalore, Coastal south India. Data were collected using a 31 item semi structured questionnaire that was distributed among 570 medical students, of which 485 completed questionnaire were received giving an overall response rate of 86.14%. The study was approved by the departmental review board. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED data were analyzed using SPSS Version 11.5, Chi-square test for association was used and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Of the total study participants, 83.1% of them used PLDs regularly, of whom 77.7% used it for more than 1 h a day. Overall, 18.0% of the study population was aware that prolonged use of PLDs could be harmful to their health. Majority of the study subjects (72.4%) felt that the safe duration of listening to PLDs is 3 to 5 h. Among the subjects using PLDs ≥ 1 h, 60.1% preferred ear phones and among those using PLDs <1 h, 44.1% preferred earphones. Overall, 12.4% experienced temporary hearing loss on usage of PLDs. The use of PLDs among the medical students is on the rise, and they should be made more aware of the harmful effects associated with its use.

Gender preferences among antenatal women: a cross-sectional study from coastal South India.

BACKGROUND A balanced sex ratio is essential for a stable society. OBJECTIVE The main objective of the present research was to study the perceptions of women attending the antenatal care (ANC) facility regarding their gender preferences and family composition. METHOD In this cross-sectional study 132 antenatal women were interviewed in their preferred language using a predesigned semi-structured questionnaire. The collected information was analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. RESULTS The mean age of the study participants was 27.2 ± 4.1 years. The majority of the antenatal women (60.6%, n=80) did not have any gender preferences. Among those who had a gender preference (39.4%, n=52), male and female preference was reported by 55.7% (n=29) and 44.3% (n=23) of the participants respectively. The overall son preference index was observed to be 1.3. No consistent relationship could be established between the socio-demographic factors and the preference for gender. The mean preferred family size in our study was 1.85±0.531 and more than half of the participants had a balanced gender preference. The majority of the participants were aware that the adverse sex ratio can lead to fall in the number of brides and that it would bring about a social imbalance. CONCLUSION As a developed society we need to ensure that both the genders get equal respect and are free from any sort of preferences and prejudices. To achieve this, more and more people need to be made aware of the consequences of gender imbalance and adverse sex ratio in a society.

Perceptions and practices of medical practitioners towards ethics in medical practice – A study from coastal South India

Ethics is the application of values and moral rules to human activities. Medical practitioners are expected to not only have the skills and knowledge relevant to their field but also with the ethical and legal expectations that arise out of the standard practices. The present research was conducted with an aim to study the perceptions and practices of medical practitioners towards healthcare ethics in Indian scenario and to strengthen the evidence in the field of ethics training. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three associate hospitals of a Medical College in Southern India. Medical practitioners included in the study were administered a pre-tested, semi-structured questionnaire. Data was collected based on their responses on a 5 point Likert scale and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. The majority of the participants mentioned that their perceptions of ethics in medical practice were based on information obtained during their undergraduate training, followed by experience at work. The medical practitioners had a positive perception on issues relating to consent in medical practice. However, the same degree of perception was not observed for issues related to confidentiality and their dealing with patients during emergency conditions. The majority of the medical practitioners agreed that ethical conduct is important to avoid legal and disciplinary actions. Among the medical practitioners, the responses of specialists and non-specialists were mostly similar with major differences of opinion for a few issues. A highest level of knowledge, awareness and understanding of ethics are expected in medical practice as it is the foundation of sound healthcare delivery system.

Harassment among Women at Workplace: A Cross-Sectional Study in Coastal South India.

Harassment is any improper and unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person. Harassment may take the form of words, gestures or actions which tend to annoy, alarm, abuse, demean, intimidate, belittle, humiliate or embarrass another or which create an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.(1) Women face discrimination from childhood, especially in communities where there is a preference for the male child.(2) Harassment in the work place is becoming increasingly important in all sectors of the economy, largely due to growing numbers of negative consequences. This has lead to the formulation of anti-harassment policies by several non-government organizations.(3) This study was carried out to find out harassment among women at workplace, types and reasons for harassment generally faced by working women.