A Community Participation Initiative During COVID-19 Pandemic:A Case Study From India

Background: A community participation initiative of stitching personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, and face shields for healthcare professionals working in the hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted using a case study design. Methods: The hospital tailoring unit was used to cater to the in-house demand for stitching safety gear kits for healthcare professionals. A transect walk was conducted to survey hospitals for selecting material for stitching the safety gears and to draw up a plan to meet future demand. The psychiatric social worker induced a community participatory initiative using the method of social work of community organization. A flyer was prepared to invite participants with prior experience in tailoring for this initiative. All participants were trained by the master trainers of the tailoring unit. The participants were also interviewed about their views on this initiative in an informal interview. Results: A total of 83 participants, including 26 individuals (8 volunteers and 18 who received an honorarium), 2 boutiques ( n = 12), and 1 government organization, participated in the activity ( n = 45). A total of 1700 complete PPE kits and 13,000 masks were stitched during this period. The participants reported that the benefit of being a part of this initiative was reduced boredom, sense of purpose and satisfaction, and improved mental health due to structured activity. Conclusions: A community participation initiative using the principles of community organization, a method of social work, can help produce desired outputs and improve the well-being of the participants

A proactive approach: Examples for integrating disaster risk reduction and mental health and psychosocial support programming

Natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies exert devastating impacts globally. Among these effects are disruptions in mental health and psychosocial well-being. Traditionally, mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions have been implemented in response and recovery phases. Yet, the field of disaster management has demonstrated a shift towards disaster risk reduction (DRR). The degree to which the MHPSS field has followed this trend has been limited by several factors, including a lack of consensus-based guidance for MHPSS and DRR integration. However, examples from the field exist and demonstrate the feasibility of taking proactive approaches to supporting mental health and well-being and building better before emergencies occur. The following article outlines two case examples, one project in Sierra Leone and another in India, integrating MHPSS and DRR approaches and principles. Lessons learned from these cases and specific challenges in each context are highlighted and discussed

Efficacy of Psychosocial Intervention on Self-Esteem among Marginalized Children with Special Reference to Devadasis’ Children

Background: The unique cultural context of Southern India gives rise children of unwed mothers due to the practice of devadasi system - a practice that was followed in various parts of the globe during the barbaric era of dedicating girls to temples. Thousands of children without parental care and children of devadasis in Northern Karnataka were reported psychosocial problems such as poverty, dropout, dedication of girls, poor health & vulnerability for HIV/AIDS etc. This increases the chances of developing poor self esteem among children of devadasis. Aim: To assess and compare the efficacy of a psychosocial intervention to improve the self esteem among children of unwed mothers (devadasis), a single parents children and children having both parents. Methodology: Psychosocial care program consisting of life skills and student enrichment were incorporated with educational services for children attending after school program carried out by the NGO. A quasi-experimental study was conducted among  184 children of 10 – 16 years, (62 - children of devadasis, 60- single parent and 62- children with both parents) attending the program in 36 villages of Bagalkot District, Karnataka, India through simple random sampling. Results: The results of the study showed a higher mean for self esteem among children of devadasis, single parents and dual parents with no significant difference between the three groups (df = 2, P>.05). The results confirm a significant increase in the self esteem among children due to psychosocial interventions when compared with the result of a study conducted in a larger geographic area in 2008 of which the current population was a part. Conclusion: The results confirm the efficacy of psychosocial interventions through after-school programs in improving self esteem among children especially among the children of an unwed mother who's vulnerability to develop poor self esteem is higher. Findings of the present study have significance in the implications for social work and social development practice. Keywords: Psychosocial intervention, self esteem, unwed mothers, devadasi

Internet use among adolescents: Risk-taking behavior, parental supervision, and implications for safety

Background: Internet communication applications have become an important social context for the development of adolescents. The use of Internet is leading to many risk-taking behaviors also. Material and Methods: This study assessed the risk-taking behaviors and related problems among adolescents while using the internet and parental supervision on it. The study followed descriptive cross-sectional research design and the data was collected from 179 school going adolescents through semi-structured interview schedule. Results: About 60% of the respondents belonged to male (M = 14.5, SD = 1.2 years), mean time spent on internet use in the previous week was 6 hours, 41% access to computers at home, and 28% had arguments with their care givers due to their pattern of usage of internet. There was a significant difference in emotional (t = 3.127, df = 177, P < 0.01) and personal level risk-taking domains (t = 3.037, df = 177, P < 0.01) between male and female respondents, indicating boys were taking more risks than girls. High emotional problems among 8th grade students (M = 1.63, ±1.87) was noted. Significant difference was observed between the number of hours spent on online in a week and arguments with parents (t = 2.517, df = 177, P < 0.05). There was also significant difference in emotional problems (F = 3.212, P < 0.05) and sex-related risk (F = 4.735, P < 0.05) domains between parental filtering and non-filtering group (F = 3.212, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Results clearly indicate that there is an evidence of risk-taking behaviors among adolescents those who were in lack of parental supervision. Hence, there is an urgent need to educate parents, teachers, and address this issue on a greater scale including at the policy level

Prevalence of psychological distress among the caregivers of an endosulfan disaster victims in India: a cross-sectional community-based study

Abstract Background Physical health needs of disaster victims take priority over mental health needs in post-disaster scenario, assessments and interventions for latter needs are done only for a shorter duration. The caregivers of the victims also bore the brunt of the disaster and their mental health needs are seldom examined and addressed. Unable to find any literature examining the mental health needs of caregivers of the endosulfan disaster victims in India, the study was planned with the objectives of assessing the prevalence and predictors of psychological distress, its relation to the level of impact, disability as well as quality of life among the caregivers of the victims of endosulfan disaster in the State of Kerala, India after 20 years. Method It was a cross-sectional community-based study among 400 the caregivers of the victims of endosulfan disaster. Demographic details, distress, impact, disability and quality of life were measured using instruments such as Family Schedule, Self-Reporting Questionnaire, Impact of Events Scale, World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 and World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale, respectively. Results The estimated psychological distress among the caregivers of the endosulfan disaster victims was 48.7%. Distressed caregivers were found to have significant higher impact (t = − 12.12, p < 0.001), higher disability (t = − 13.33, p < 0.001), and poorer quality of life (t = 11.64, p < 0.001) than non-distressed caregivers. On logistic regression analysis, the positive predictors of psychological distress among the caregivers of endosulfan victims were female sex, impact and psychological disability while quality of life was a negative predictor. Conclusions Almost half of the caregivers of the victims of endosulfan disaster victims reported psychological distress, high level of impact and disability and a poorer quality of life. It calls for periodical mental health needs assessment and a long-term sustainable community based psychosocial care and disaster mental health programme

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">Anticaries potential of ethnomedicinal plants used by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Malayali</i> tribals from Kolli Hills, India</span>

109-115Malayali tribals of Kolli hills, Tamil Nadu, India use many plants for oral healthcare. The present study documents the dental caries preventing medicinal plants used by them and attempts to validate their claim. An ethnomedicinal survey comprising field visits, collection of information using specific questionnaire was done to collect the medicinal plants used by them. The plants cited by the informants were collected and successively extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol and evaluated for their antimicrobial efficacy against four cariogenic clinical isolates. The MIC, anti-biofilm efficacy and GC-MS phytoconstituent identification were also done. This study identified 15 species that were commonly used by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Malayali tribals to maintain oral health and hygiene. Among the tested extracts, the methanol extract of Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. Fabaceae showed highest inhibitory activity against the cariogenic isolates. At 1 mg/ml concentration, it inhibited the biofilm formation by 92.0%, 77.6%, 74.1% and 94.9% against L. casei, S. mutans, S. aureus and K. pneumoniae, respectively. The active methanol extract’s GC-MS analysis resulted in the identification of eleven major compounds.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The rich traditional knowledge of tribal people has immense potential for caries and other oral health management along with pharmacological lead compound studies. </span