Impact of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) on morbidity status of children and knowledge, attitude, and practice of mothers towards ICDS: A comparative study

Background: Nutrition during the early age of life has a prominent impact on growth and development during childhood period and serves as a key determinant of health and nutritional status in adolescent and adulthood life. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to assess the health status and morbidity pattern of children attending and not attending Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) center and to find out the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of the respective mothers regarding ICDS scheme. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was carried among children between 0 and 6 years of age residing in an urban slum area of Karad Municipal Corporation of district Satara, attending and not attending Anganwadies. The study was conducted over a period of 6 months during the year 2017. A total of 500 children were studied for clinical examination and anthropometric measurements with pre-tested, self-administered, and structured questionnaire. The data were computerized in a rational database management system and analyzed using Chi-square tests for statistical significance. Results: Out of a total of 500 children, maximum 58.8% were from age group 37 to 72 months with apparent differences in male and female proportions. The prevalence of undernutrition was significantly high among children not attending Anganwadis (32.4%) and showed 1.8 times the risk of developing under-malnutrition as compared to Anganwadis attendance. The morbidities such as malnutrition (32.40%), anemia (42.40%), Vitamin A deficiency (39.20%), Vitamin B complex deficiency (28.80%), diarrhea (15.20%), and acute respiratory infections (11.60%) were significantly higher in children not attending Anganwadi as compared to those attending Anganwadis (p < 0.05). The mothers of children attending Anganwadis had higher (18.40%) good KAP score regarding ICDS services as compared to those not attending Anganwadis. Conclusion: Children attending Anganwadis have lesser morbidities than those not attending Anganwadis and their mothers had better knowledge about these services

Pattern of antibiotic use in neonatal intensive care unit in tertiary care hospital in Southern India

Background: Repeated and prolonged courses of antibiotics exposure have resulted in an increase in the prevalence of hospital acquired infections and antibiotic resistant profile. The objective of this study was to quantify the use of antibiotics in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from rural tertiary health care centre.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in the NICU of tertiary care hospital located in western Maharashtra, India during the year 2011-12. A total of 237 neonates admitted to NICU from October 2011 to March 2012 were enrolled in the study according to inclusion criteria of the study. Demographic details, data on antibiotic prescriptions (name, dose, frequency, route of administration) were recorded by utilizing pre-tested structured proforma.Results: A total of 3822 prescriptions were received by the neonates and commonly prescribed antibiotics were amikacin (75.53%), cefotaxime (43.34%) and ampicillin (31.33%) respectively. It was also noted that 50% of the drugs prescribed were in compliance with the national list of essential medicines 2011. The max, 68.75% of antibiotics prescribed were in generics forms however, 12.5% were prescribed in the form of fixed dose combinations.Conclusions: The revealed that 3rd generation cephalosporins and amikacin are most commonly used antibiotics in NICU

Knowledge on the risk factors of drug-resistant tuberculosis among newly diagnosed patients of tuberculosis with first-line antitubercular treatment regimen

BACKGROUND: The emergence of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), a new public health challenge, acts as an obstacle to the national TB elimination program in India. OBJECTIVES: The objective of the study was to assess knowledge on risk factors of drug-resistant (DR) TB and to determine its association with sociodemographic factors among newly diagnosed patients of TB. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in the year 2019 among 425 adult TB patients on first-line anti-TB treatment from District TB Centre Satara, India. A structured interview was employed to collect information on the knowledge variables of risk factors associated with DR-TB. RESULTS: Maximum 58.3% belonged to the age group from 15 to 34 years with a higher proportion of 63.5% belonging to males. Maximum 66.8%, 59.2%, and 46.1% of patients felt that defaulter, poor treatment compliance, and delay in the initiation of anti-TB treatment as risk factors for the emergence of drug resistance TB (DR-TB), respectively. Behavioral risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco exposure were also felt as risk factors by maximum 64%, and 59.7% of patients, respectively. Based on the knowledge category, maximum 46.5% of participants belonged to the poor; however, only 16.7% fall in the good category. Age, education, occupation, income, and residence were significantly associated with knowledge on the possible risk factors of DR-TB among participants (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The study has elicited overall poor knowledge on the risk factors of DR-TB. Health empowerment of family and community with effective health education strategy may reduce the problem of the emergence of DR-TB

KNOWLEDGE OF SLUM COMMUNITY TOWARD LEPROSY: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY FROM KARAD URBAN BLOCK OF WESTERN MAHARASHTRA, INDIA

 Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the knowledge of urban slum community toward leprosy and to determine the relationship between sociodemographic variables and knowledge about leprosy.Methods: The study was planned during September 2016 to October 2016, as a community-based cross-sectional survey conducted at Karad urban slum area of state Maharashtra, India. The sample size calculated was a total of 246 slum community members, aged 20–60 years, enrolled randomly and interviewed by utilizing pre-tested structured pro forma. Data collected were analyzed and presented in tabular form. Chi-square test was used to determine the association between study variables.Results: A total of 246 respondents were interviewed of which maximum 42.2% were in the age group 30–40 years. The problem of illiteracy was 25.6% and maximum 67.4% were engaged in daily wage labor force. The overall knowledge about leprosy was poor responded by more than half (55.6%) of the study participants. Maximum, 78% slum dwellers knew about leprosy disease, whereas their knowledge about the cause of disease, sign, and symptoms, infectivity and curability was around 50%. Maximum 68% of participants responded that disease is confined to poor people. The age, education, and occupational status of slum dwellers were significantly associated with knowledge about leprosy.Conclusion: The present study concluded that poor knowledge of slum community toward leprosy could be an important determinant of poor performance of the National Leprosy Eradication Programme at urban community