Attitude and Myths Towards Rape among Medical Students in Rajkot, India

Background: Violence against women takes many forms – physical, sexual, psychological and economic. Violence against women harms families and communities across generations and reinforces other violence prevalent in society. Rape myths encompass a set of (false) beliefs about rape that places the blame on the victim and not the perpetrator. Objective: to assess the prevailing attitudes on rape myths among the medical students. Methods: The study was conducted after taking informed consent among 346 undergraduate medical students of P D U Government Medical College, Rajkot, India from January to June, 2013 by using previously validated questionnaire using updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale. Results: The age range of 346 medical students was 17 to 23 years with 172 male and 174 female students. Total 24.4% male and 23% female students had very good positive attitude. One fourth of male and one fifth of female students had a more negative attitude. No relation was observed for rape myth acceptance among medical students for residential or socio-economic status. Conclusion: The present study provides insight to the prevalence of attitude and rape myths towards rape among medical students. Introduction of education on gender violence with introduction of courses on ‘sexual violence’ in medical curriculum may help to decrease rape incidence and for better management of victims

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease in South Asia: a systematic review

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is becoming a major public health problem around the world. But the prevalence has not been reported in South Asian region as a whole. This study aimed to systematically review the existing data from population based studies in this region to bridge this gap. Methods Articles published and reported prevalence of CKD according to K/DOQI practice guideline in eight South Asian countries between December 1955 and April 2017 were searched, screened and evaluated from seven electronic databases using the PRISMA checklist. CKD was defined as creatinine clearance (CrCl) or GFR less than 60 ml/min/1.73 m2. Results Sixteen population-based studies were found from four South Asian countries (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal) that used eGFR to measure CKD. No study was available from Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Afghanistan. Number of participants ranged from 301 in Pakistan to 12,271 in India. Majority of the studies focused solely on urban population. Different studies used different equations for measuring eGFR. The prevalence of CKD ranged from 10.6% in Nepal to 23.3% in Pakistan using MDRD equation. This prevalence was higher among older age group people. Equal number of studies reported high prevalence among male and female each. Conclusions This systematic review reported high prevalence of CKD in South Asian countries. The findings of this study will help pertinent stakeholders to prepare suitable policy and effective public health intervention in order to reduce the burden of this deadly disease in the most densely populated share of the globe