Context: Nutrition is one of the most important factors that affect a child's health. It plays a vital role in the prevention and control of disease morbidity and mortality. It is a major public health problem in a developing country like India. Aims: To assess undernutrition in under-five children and various sociodemographic factors affecting it. Settings and Design: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among under-five children of rural and urban Rishikesh. A total sample size of 400 under-five children was taken. Multistage sampling was done to select the areas and systematic random sampling was done for selection of households. Subject and Methods: A predesigned, pretested, and semistructured questionnaire was used to collect information on the sociodemographic characteristics and status of undernutrition in study participants. Statistical Analysis Used: Data was entered into excel sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 23 utilizing appropriate statistical methods. Results: The prevalence of underweight was 37.3%, stunting 43.3% and wasting 24.5%. Underweight (40.5% v/s 35.0%), stunting (46.5% v/s 40.0%), and wasting (27.0% v/s 22.0%) was more prevalent in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Sociodemographic factors such as religion, caste, parental education, father's occupation, and family size emerged as significant predictors of under nutrition. Conclusion: Undernutrition in under-five children was quite high. Since childhood malnutrition is multifactorial, there is no single cause big enough to blame but a multifaceted approach is required to combat malnutrition.
1 July 2020 in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care
Context: Population of elderly in India is growing day by day. Elderly population of India is 8.6% and in Uttarakhand it is 8.9%. Health needs of geriatric people differs from others. This study was an attempt to study the morbidity profile of geriatric people that may serve as a baseline data and also help in planning the health services. Aims: To study Morbidity profile of geriatric population in Uttarakhand. Settings and Design: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among geriatric people in rural and urban areas of Uttarakhand. Study participants aged 60 years and above were included in the study and a sample size of 400 was calculated. Methods and Materials: Predesigned, pretested and semistructured questionnaire was used to collect information on sociodemographic characteristics and morbidity status of study participants. Statistical Analysis Used: Data was entered into excel sheets and analyzed using SPSS version 23 utilizing appropriate statistical methods. Results: Among 400 elderly people most common organ system affected was musculoskeletal (77.20%). Other commonly affected health systems were psychological (75.90%), digestive (73.60%), eye (56.67%), endocrine (35.90%), cardiovascular (33.08%), general and unspecified health problems (32.05%), ear (24.62%) and respiratory system (19.74%). Very few elderlies had neurological (6.67%) and urological (1.28%) problems. Conclusions: As shown in the present study very high percentage of morbidities were found in the study population. As a result, there is a need to further strengthen existing geriatric health care services at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
1 August 2024 in Recent Advances in Anti-Infective Drug Discovery
“Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health problem” worldwide, affecting almost all age groups. “Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential to significantly reducing the TB burden.” However, a significant proportion of cases remain undiagnosed and untreated, which plays a vital role in the transmission of the disease and severity of the illness in the community in most developing countries. This study aimed to assess “the extent of delay in diagnosis and treatment of TB patients” and to identify the major factors associated with such delays (whether patient or health system-related) among TB patients in Rishikesh. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Rishikesh Town, Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India. Total of 130 newly diagnosed TB patients were recruited as study participants who attended the government hospitals of Rishikesh, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh and S P S Government Hospital, Rishikesh. A universal sampling technique was used in this study. The mean age of the study participant was 36.75 [Standard Deviation (SD), 17.6], and the median age was 34 years. Of the patients,64.6% were men, and 35.4% were women. The extent of various delays, such as patient delay (median 16 days), diagnostic delay (median 78.5 days), treatment delay (median 4 days), health system delay (43 days), and total delay (median 81 days). The misconception of any chronic disease may lead to a false diagnosis or long treatment for symptomatic relief; the absence of proper diagnostic tests and doctor shopping could be the reasons for the prolonged diagnostic delay. Therefore, by strengthening the collaboration between private and public practitioners in order to meet the expectations of the Government of India to achieve the goals of the “National Strategic Plan for ending TB” in India by providing good quality care for all patients
30 June 2020 in Indian Journal of Community Health
Introduction: Most of the developing country facing growing number of elderly population because of decrease in fertility and increase in longevity. Elderly age (≥ 60 years) is a period in which people are prone to chronic diseases and their functional independency is probably restricted by physical and mental disabilities. Aim & Objectives: To find out the prevalence of physical dependency among elderly in Uttarakhand, India. Material & Methods: Activities of daily living (ADL) comprise the basic actions that involve caring for self and body, including personal care, eating and mobility. Results: In the present study population of 400, 112 (28%) study population were found to be physically dependent for their daily activities and out of them 63.39 % had moderate to severe dependency. Conclusion: High level of physical dependency in this study population need urgent attention towards good quality home care and geriatric health care services in India at primary, secondary and tertiary level.
30 June 2020 in Indian Journal of Community Health
Background: Undernutrition has long been a major public health concern in developing country like India as a leading cause of child morbidity and mortality. Aim & Objectives: To assess undernutrition in under five children and various associated factors affecting it. Methods and Material: A community based cross sectional study was conducted among 400 under five children in Rishikesh. Results: The prevalence of underweight was 37.3%, stunting was 43.3% and wasting was 24.5% respectively. Common morbidity emerged as significant predictors of under nutrition. Conclusion: The burden of common morbidities and prevalence of malnutrition among under-five children in this community is very high.
Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCD) play a pivotal role in shaping national health statistics and public health initiatives. This study investiga