Measuring tuberculosis patient perceived quality of care in public and public-private mix settings in India: an instrument development and validation study.

BACKGROUND At present, there are no validated quantitative scales available to measure patient-centred quality of care in health facilities providing services for tuberculosis (TB) patients in India and low-income and middle-income countries. METHODS Initial themes and items reflective of TB patient's perceived quality of care were developed using qualitative interviews. Content adequacy of the items were ascertained through Content validity Index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR). Pilot testing of the questionnaire for assessing validity and reliability was undertaken among 714 patients with TB. Sampling adequacy and sphericity were tested by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett's test, respectively. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken to test validity. Cronbach's α and test-retest scores were used to test reliability. RESULTS A 32-item tool measuring patient-perceived quality of TB distributed across five domains was developed initially based on a CVI and CVR cut-off score of 0.78 and cognitive interviews with patients with TB. Bartlett's test results showed a strong significance f (χ=3756 and p1 which accounted for 60.9% of the total variance of items. Correlation (z-value >1.96) between items and factors was highly significant and Cronbach's α was acceptable for the global scale (0.76) for the four factors. Intraclass correlation coefficient and the test retest scores for four factors were (<0.001) significant. CONCLUSION We validated a measurement tool for patient-perceived quality of care for TB (PPQCTB) which measured the patient's satisfaction with healthcare provider and services. PPQCTB tool could enrich quality of care evaluation frameworks for TB health services in India

Knowledge, attitude, and practice towards face mask use among residents of Greater Chennai Corporation, India, March 2021

BackgroundWearing a mask is one of the simplest ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Studies reported poor mask compliance in Greater Chennai Corporation, India. Hence, we described the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding mask use among adults (≥18 years) in Greater Chennai Corporation, Tamil Nadu, India.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey among residents of Greater Chennai Corporation in March 2021. We estimated the sample size to be 203 per strata (slum and non-slum). We used a simple random sampling technique to select 20 locations using a digital map in the slum and non-slum areas. After reaching the location chosen, we selected 10 consecutive households and one adult (≥18 years of age) from each household. We used a validated, semi-structured questionnaire for collecting data regarding knowledge, attitudes, and practices for mask use. We estimated proportions and 95% CI for key variables and compared the variables between slums and non-slums.ResultsOf 430 participants included in the study, 51.4% were males. The mean (S.D.) age of the participants is 41.1 (14.6) years. The majority (86.7%) of the participants felt that wearing a mask helped in reducing the spread of coronavirus and the knowledge differed (p-value &lt; 0.05) between the slum (81.4%) and non-slum (92.3%). Nearly half (46.5%) of the participants did not like being forced to wear the mask. About 63.9% of the participants reported the practice of mask use while going out which was similar across slums and non-slums.ConclusionAlthough the knowledge regarding mask use was good among the public, the attitude was unfavorable. We suggest continuous reinforcement by spreading awareness and educating the community on the appropriate use of the mask

Quality of communication life in individuals with Broca's aphasia and normal individuals: A comparative study

Background: Aphasia is a neurogenic communication disorder with significant deficits in various domains of language and communication. One such type of aphasia, which impacts the quality of life significantly is Broca's aphasia, where the individual is aware of the communication difficulty. Objective: To compare the Quality of Communication Life (QoCL) between individuals with Broca's aphasia and normal individuals. Methods: The first phase of the study translated and validated QCL scale in Tamil. The second phase involved administration of the Tamil QCL scale on 12 individuals with Broca's aphasia and 12 age matched normal adults. The marked responses were analysed on a visual analogue scale independently. Statistical Analysis: Three domains of QoCL were compared between the two groups using Mann–Whitney U-test. Results: The QoCL scores across three domains were observed to be lower in individuals with Broca's aphasia, when compared to normal adults. Individuals with Broca's aphasia expressed greater challenges in socialization/activities domain of QoCL than confidence/self-concept and roles and responsibilities domains. Conclusions: Information obtained on self-reported QCL scale in familiar or native language will facilitate in planning client-oriented management of aphasia

Effectiveness of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Coronavirus Vaccine (CovishieldTM) in Preventing SARS-CoV2 Infection, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, 2021

We estimated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Covishield) vaccine against any COVID-19 infection among individuals &ge;45 years in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. A community-based cohort study was conducted from May to September 2021 in a selected geographic area in Chennai. The estimated sample size was 10,232. We enrolled 69,435 individuals, of which 21,793 were above 45 years. Two-dose coverage of Covishield in the 18+ and 45+ age group was 18% and 31%, respectively. Genomic analysis of 74 out of the 90 aliquots collected from the 303 COVID-19-positive individuals in the 45+ age group showed delta variants and their sub-lineages. The vaccine&rsquo;s effectiveness against COVID-19 disease in the &ge;45 age group was 61.3% (95% CI: 43.6&ndash;73.4) at least 2 weeks after receiving the second dose of Covishield. We demonstrated the effectiveness of two doses of the ChAdOx1 vaccine against the delta variant in the general population of Chennai. We recommend similar future studies considering emerging variants and newer vaccines. Two-dose vaccine coverage could be ensured to protect against COVID-19 infection

Photoelectrochemical Water‐Splitting Using CuO‐Based Electrodes for Hydrogen Production: A Review

The cost-effective, robust, and efficient electrocatalysts for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water-splitting has been extensively studied over the past decade to address a solution for the energy crisis. The interesting physicochemical properties of CuO have introduced this promising photocathodic material among the few photocatalysts with a narrow bandgap. This photocatalyst has a high activity for the PEC hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) under simulated sunlight irradiation. Here, the recent advancements of CuO-based photoelectrodes, including undoped CuO, doped CuO, and CuO composites, in the PEC water-splitting field, are comprehensively studied. Moreover, the synthesis methods, characterization, and fundamental factors of each classification are discussed in detail. Apart from the exclusive characteristics of CuO-based photoelectrodes, the PEC properties of CuO/2D materials, as groups of the growing nanocomposites in photocurrent-generating devices, are discussed in separate sections. Regarding the particular attention paid to the CuO heterostructure photocathodes, the PEC water splitting application is reviewed and the properties of each group such as electronic structures, defects, bandgap, and hierarchical structures are critically assessed