Awareness about cervical cancers among health workers in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh, India

Background: Cervical cancer, although largely preventable, remains the most common cause of cancer mortality among women in low-resource countries. Aim of this study was to assess knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer prevention among health workers in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among multipurpose health care workers (both males and females) in Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. A self-administered close ended questionnaire was used. The questionnaire, consisted of two parts. The first part comprised of questions relating to demographic data and the second part had questions on knowledge about cervical cancers. The data was analyzed using the statistical analysis program SPSS version 16.0.  Tests used were Chi square, t test and ANOVA. A p-values <0.05 were considered  statistically significant.Results: Out of 122 subjects, there were 45 (36.9%) males and 77 (63.1%) females. The mean knowledge percent of the population was 55.9+16.4. Among the age groups it was highest for the age group of 21-30 years (62.5+23.6) and lowest for the age group of 51-60 years (53.6+16.4). Knowledge about risk factors was correctly reported by 44.3% of population. Who should be screened for cervical cancers was reported correctly by 29.5% and at what interval screening should be done was reported by 14.8%.Conclusions: Half of the population had moderate overall knowledge about cervical cancers, but the knowledge about risk factors and screening eligibility and screening interval was inadequate. So, education programs should be arranged for the health workers in order to prevent cervical cancers

Oral health knowledge and practices among primary healthcare workers in Shimla District, Himachal Pradesh, India

Context: Primary healthcare workers being grassroot workers in rural areas can be effective in oral health promotion in these areas. Aim: To assess oral health knowledge and practices among primary healthcare workers in Shimla district in Himachal Pradesh. Setting and Design: A cross-sectional study. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess oral health knowledge and practices of primary healthcare workers in Shimla using a self-administered questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analyzed using SPSS package version 16. The tests used were t-test and Fisher's exact test. A P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: Of 130 subjects, there were 60 (46.2%) males and 70 (53.8%) females. The mean age of the population was 48.4 ± 5.9 with a range of 25–57. The mean knowledge score percent of the population was 51.9 ± 18.2. It was higher for males (52.3 ± 15.0) when compared with females (51.5 ± 20.7). The mean knowledge score percent was positively associated with education and negatively associated with age. Tooth brush was used by 97.7% and tooth paste by 121 (93.1%). The frequency of brushing twice was reported by 79 (60.8%). Conclusion: Though the overall knowledge about oral health is good among primary healthcare workers, the understanding about various aspects is lacking. Therefore, it is recommended that health workers should be given education to enhance knowledge and practices toward oral healthcare and to increase their screening capacity for common dental problem which will serve the community in long way

Malignant intracranial hemangiopericytoma in a 22-year-old male with head injury and implications

We report a case of intracranial hemangiopericytoma of a young male of 22 years who presented with neurological signs of impaired memory, left hemiparesis, headache, and two episodes of focal seizures. A significant history of head trauma 9 years back was given. A space-occupying lesion was identified in the bilateral frontoparietal region. The surgical intervention involved bilateral frontoparietal craniotomy and Simpson Grade II excision of tumor. Postoperative conformal radiotherapy was administered. A marked neurological improvement was subsequently observed. Peak incidence of this disease is in the fourth or fifth decade. However, our case is an exception presenting at an age of 22 years. Associated history of head trauma has only been infrequently reported in the past

Breast cancer risk factor evaluation in a Western Himalayan state: A case–control study and comparison with the Western World

Context: Breast cancer incidence is increasing rapidly in India. The lifestyle, built, genetic makeup, reproductive and breastfeeding patterns are quite different in Indian females when compared to the Western population. Generalizing the Western data to the population residing in the Himalayan region would breed inaccuracies. Aim: The aim of our study was to identify risk factors in our own population in a Western Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Subjects and Methods: A case–control study with 377 cases of invasive breast cancer and 346 hospital-based controls was conducted for 1 year. The data were collected by interviewing the individuals during their visit to hospital using a questionnaire. The data were analyzed using standard statistical techniques using SPSS version 17 software. Results: Factors found to have strong association with invasive breast cancer on multivariate analysis are late age at first childbirth> 30 years, which is the strongest risk factor associated, late age of menopause > 50 years, high socioeconomic class, and age of female above 50 years. Conclusion: In our females, age> 50 years, late age of menopause (>50 years), late age at first childbirth (>30 years), and high socioeconomic status were found to be major risk factors associated with breast cancer. Several factors implicated in the Western data were not found to be significant in our study. We need to identify such aspects in reproductive and breastfeeding patterns of women and spread awareness regarding the same