Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant and recently delivered women in villages of a block of Ganjam, Odisha, India: a community based cross-sectional study

Background: Globally approximately 830 women die from pregnancy and child birth every day. Most of deaths can be prevented by proper planning like birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR). The aim of study was to assess awareness and practice regarding BPCR among pregnant women and recently delivered women and to identify socio-demographic factors affecting it.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from September to December 2018 in villages of Chhatrapur block of Ganjam District among pregnant women (completed 24 weeks) and recently delivered women (12 months) regardless of newborn outcome. Sample size was calculated to be 96. Multi stage random sampling was adopted and PPS (Probability proportional to size) method was used. A questionnaire was used which contained socio-demographic information and set of 11 indicators to determine BPCR index. All data were analysed in SPSS.Results: BPCR index was 44.6% and it was higher (61%) in recently delivered women. 26% can be said to be well prepared and 45.8%, 27%, 32.3%, 37.5% knew at least one key danger sign in pregnancy, delivery, post partum and about new born respectively. A significant association was found between maternal education, age and pregnancy with awareness regarding BPCR.Conclusions: BPCR index in study area was low and a low proportion of participants were well prepared. Awareness about danger signs was quite low. So health workers at grassroots level should be encouraged to explain BPCR components to women and educational activities should be carried out to promote women to make plan a priori

Knowledge, awareness and practice of cervical cancer screening among ever married rural women of Ganjam District, Odisha: a community based cross-sectional study

Background: India accounts for 25% of total deaths from cervical cancer. Screening for cervical cancer reduces mortality by early detection and treatment. So, a study was conducted among rural women of Ganjam district with the objective to know knowledge, attitude and practice of cervical screening among them.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from January to February 2019 among ever married women of more than 30 years of age residing in villages of Chhatrapur block of Ganjam district. Sample size was calculated to be 280 by formula Z2pq/l2. Multistage random sampling and PPS method were used to select participants. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data and all data were analysed in SPSS.Results: Among 280 participants, though 70.7% had heard about cervical cancer, only 32.5% knew that there are tests for screening. Only 13.2% of participants said that Pap smear test was to be taken regularly. However, majority didn’t know who should undergo screening test and what age tests should be started. Main source of information for them was health worker (39%). Only 14.6% had any type of cervical screening in their lifetime. The main reason for not going for screening was ignorance (53.9%) followed by thinking tests are not needed unless any symptoms appearedConclusions: Proportion of participants with proper knowledge and awareness regarding cervical cancer screening was low which led to poor uptake of screening. So, awareness regarding cervical cancer screening should be increased. Health camps and education programs should be conducted regularly

Perceptions and practices of various maternal and child health services: a study among women of reproductive age group in a costal block of Ganjam District, Odisha

Background: “Healthy mothers - Healthy children” and “children’s health - tomorrows health”. Any intervention which should be planned towards the upliftment of health status of this group must start with gathering information about their present status especially in the underprivileged section. This study was conducted with an objective to assess perceptions and practices of various Maternal and Health services in the study group.Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted among women in reproductive age group residing in villages of a coastal block with a predesigned and pretested questionnaire.Results: Among the study population 54.7% women were in the 25-34 years age group, majority (46.7%) were illiterate and one-fourth of the study population age at marriage was below 18 years. Though 90.7% of study population were aware of the ongoing contraceptive practises only 37.4% of the respondents accepted some or other contraceptive methods. Fear of side effects (35.4%) found to be the chief reasons for unwillingness for adopting contraception. Majority (90.2%) responded that pregnant women need to go for ANC but only 51.9% knew correctly about minimum number of ANC. Women having adequate knowledge on ANC was found to be significantly associated with their educational status and age at marriage. Among PNC mothers 57.6% had completed the requisite no. of ANC and only 30% of respondents had completed the course of iron and folic acid tablet during their last pregnancy.Conclusions: The literacy status of the study population has to be improved which will lead to demand generation and utilization of the health and other services provided by the Government

Prevalence of menopausal symptoms and its association with various factors among women in post menopausal age group: a cross-sectional study

Background: Menopause is an important time in women's life and it is a natural event in the process of aging. The onset of menopause heralds a time of diminished estrogen exposure, which may have both acute and chronic effect on health and quality of life.Methods: It was a cross sectional study, conducted for a period of 3months i.e. June to August 2018 among post menopausal women in 8 selected villages with a sample size of 247.Results: The common post- menopausal symptoms were joint and muscular discomfort, bladder problems, symptoms of dryness of vagina, physical and mental exhaustion. Factors like education, occupation, socio-economic status, marital status, parity, mode of delivery, age at menopause and BMI was related to one or more menopausal symptoms.  Conclusions: Proper and timely intervention among post menopausal women will help to reduce the symptoms and lead a better quality of life.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and practice regarding rabies and its prevention among construction workers: a cross-sectional study in Berhampur, Odisha

Background: Rabies is a viral zoonosis and human infection usually occurs following transdermal bite or scratch by an infected animal. It is one of the most dangerous and completely preventable diseases. Construction workers are vulnerable to animal bites. So, this study was undertaken to study the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding animal bite and rabies among construction workers.Methods: A cross sectional study was done in campus of MKCG medical college, Berhampur, Odisha, India. Data was collected by using pre-designed interview from 400 construction workers. Data was entered and analyzed using SPSS V.17. Descriptive statistics and chi square test were applied. KAP score were calculated. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: Mean age group of study participants was 37.75±15.8, 72.5% were male and 27.5% were female. 84% of the participants had heard the word rabies. 65.75% among them had poor KAP score. KAP score was significantly associated with age, sex, education and residence.Conclusions: Construction workers had poor knowledge about animal bite and rabies. Their knowledge, attitude and practice with respect to prevention and treatment of rabies can be improved by providing proper health education

Assessment of wash practices among women in urban slums of Berhampur, Odisha: a cross sectional study

Background: Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is a pre- condition for people to acquire good health, well-being and benefit from economic development. WASH constitutes both provision of water and sanitation facilities and hygiene promotion. The study objective is to assess the practices and existing perceptions of water, sanitation and hygiene among women in urban slums of Berhampur.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 400 women (households) residing in urban slums of Berhampur from August2016-January 2017 by simple random sampling. Data was collected using a predesigned pretested questionnaire.Results: Out of the total, 62.3% respondents depended on public tap as major source of drinking water , 31.5% purified water before drinking , 68.5% allowed water to stand for a day before use , 86.5% practiced hand wash before meal , 33.2% practiced open defecation, 7% and74% used soap and water for handwashing before meal and after defecation respectively, 68.3% threw liquid wastes haphazardly, 59.8% threw solid wastes haphazardly into drains, 78.5% respondents children had a history of diarrhoea in the past 6 months and 86.8% had flies menace in their houses.Conclusions: Components such as purification of water (31.5%), open defecation (33.2%), hand washing with soap and water before meal (7%), indiscriminate disposal of waste suggest a long way to go to achieve the targets of SDG -6. Adequate IEC activities are needed for effective WASH Strategy implementation

ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS OF DIABETES MELLITUS IN THE URBAN FIELD PRACTICE AREA OF A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF SOUTHERN ODISHA: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Objective: Diabetes is a chronic state of hyperglycemia which results in complications involving organs such as eyes, kidneys, nerves, heart, and blood vessels. Identifying the risk factors at an early stage can help in reducing the complications and co-morbidities of the disease. Hence, the study is carried out to assess the socio-demographic profile and associated risk factors of adult patients with diabetes mellitus. Methods: It was a cross-sectional study carried out in the urban field practice area of M.K.C.G Medical College for a period of 2 years. Multistage simple random sampling was used to select 160 known diabetic cases. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire and anthropometric measurements were taken. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 17 and appropriate statistical tests were used. Results: The mean age of study participants was 53.94. About 41.88% and 21.25% were current tobacco and alcohol users, respectively. Inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption, mixed type diet, obesity in the form of increased body mass index, and waist hip ratio and sedentary life style were found to be the predisposing factors of the disease. Conclusion: Early identification of at risk individuals and appropriate intervention to increase physical activity, bring about changes in dietary habits, maintenance of correct body weight could help to prevent or delay the onset of the disease to a great extent

Genotypic Detection of HPV 16 and HPV 18 in Cases of Cervical Cancer from Southern Odisha, India

Introduction: Human Papilloma virus (HPV) is one of the major risk factors for the occurrence of cervical cancer (CaCx) globally including India. The prevalence of HPV among the patients with CaCx is found to be varied. Objectives: This study was carried out with an objective to find out the prevalence of HPV 16 and HPV 18 in CaCx samples in southern Odisha, India. Methods: Cervical tissues samples were collected and subjected to histopathological analysis. Histopathologically positive samples were further evaluated for HPV infection by PCR method with little modifications with an initial heat treatment during DNA isolation. Two subtypes of HPV (HPV 16 and HPV 18) were investigated in this study. Description analysis was done for the presentation of generated data. Results: A total of 122 positive cases, confirmed by histopathology for CaCx were considered for DNA isolation followed by HPV 16 and HPV 18 subtype identification. Tissue samples with a lysis step of 2-4 hours incubation at 100˚C were significantly resulted with good yield of DNA. About 98 cases (80.32%) were found to be positive for HPV infection including HPV16 in 80 (81.63%) cases, HPV18 in 16 cases (16.33%) and both HPV 16 and HPV 18 in two cases (2.04%). Conclusions: The prevalence of HPV infection was found to be high in women diagnosed with CaCx in southern Odisha, which is a warning alert for the early HPV vaccination as well as early diagnosis of HPV infection

Utilisation of Supplementary Nutrition Service at Anganwadi Centres in a Block of Ganjam District, Odisha: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: In India, the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme provides a package of services to different groups of the target population. The Anganwadi Centre (AWC) is the focal point for delivery of these services. At AWCs, supplementary food is provided to children below six years, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers. Aim: To assess the pattern of utilisation of supplementary nutrition by the beneficiaries and to explore the factors leading to non utilisation of supplementary nutrition. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted from October 2016 to October 2018 in AWCs in Ganjam district, Odisha, India. Multistage random sampling was used to select the AWCs. By using table of random numbers, 24 AWCs were selected. From each AWC, 12 beneficiaries were selected randomly. So a total of 288 beneficiaries were selected. Out of 288 beneficiaries, 240 beneficiaries were eligible for supplementary nutrition. Rates and proportions were calculated. The Chi-square test was used for testing association between variables. Results: All the AWCs were providing supplementary food as per menu chart and were using standard measure for distribution of raw food. Supplementary food was consumed by 188 (78.3%) beneficiaries. The reason given by most of the respondents {28 (53.8%)} for non utilisation of supplementary nutrition was that they did not like the taste of the food. A statistically significant association was found between utilisation of supplementary nutrition and factors like education, socio-economic status and occupation of women. Conclusion: Although supplementary nutrition was provided by all the AWCs, it was not consumed by some beneficiaries due to lack of variety, taste and bad quality of food. The Take Home Ration (THR) was shared among the family members resulting in dilution of the service.</jats:p

Birth preparedness and complication readiness among pregnant and recently delivered women in villages of a block of Ganjam, Odisha, India: a community based cross-sectional study

Background: Globally approximately 830 women die from pregnancy and child birth every day. Most of deaths can be prevented by proper planning like birth preparedness and complication readiness (BPCR). The aim of study was to assess awareness and practice regarding BPCR among pregnant women and recently delivered women and to identify socio-demographic factors affecting it.Methods: A community based cross sectional study was conducted from September to December 2018 in villages of Chhatrapur block of Ganjam District among pregnant women (completed 24 weeks) and recently delivered women (12 months) regardless of newborn outcome. Sample size was calculated to be 96. Multi stage random sampling was adopted and PPS (Probability proportional to size) method was used. A questionnaire was used which contained socio-demographic information and set of 11 indicators to determine BPCR index. All data were analysed in SPSS.Results: BPCR index was 44.6% and it was higher (61%) in recently delivered women. 26% can be said to be well prepared and 45.8%, 27%, 32.3%, 37.5% knew at least one key danger sign in pregnancy, delivery, post partum and about new born respectively. A significant association was found between maternal education, age and pregnancy with awareness regarding BPCR.Conclusions: BPCR index in study area was low and a low proportion of participants were well prepared. Awareness about danger signs was quite low. So health workers at grassroots level should be encouraged to explain BPCR components to women and educational activities should be carried out to promote women to make plan a priori.</jats:p