A cross-sectional study of depression among death row convicts from a south Indian state

Background: Convicts punished with death sentences are reported to show a higher vulnerability for depression than the general population and other convicts. Previous studies have looked at the prevalence of depression in convicts; however, no studies from India have examined depression specifically among death row convicts. The present study aims to assess the prevalence of depression among death row convicts. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted among 28 death row convicts from a South Indian State, using a semi-structured questionnaire and Beck's Depression Inventory-II. After obtaining necessary permission from the government and prison authorities to interview the convicts, two visits were made to Central Prison, Belgaum. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the frequencies and percentage. Results: Most convicts in this study were aged between 30 and 60 years (68.96%) and predominantly male (93.10%). The majority of the convicts had either mild or no depression, while the rest had moderate to severe depression (57.15% vs 42.85%). Depression was significantly higher during the initial phase of the conviction (57.13%). There was an inverse trend of depression (57.13%, ? 6 years vs 42.85%, > 6 years) with the duration of stay in prison. Conclusions: Depression is prevalent among death row convicts. More systematic observation and analyses are needed from both the legal and medical fraternity to look at the death sentence and its impact on mental health

An explorative study of the differences in feeding patterns of children with and without disabilities in a rural community in Karnataka.

Background: Children with disabilities are nutritionally vulnerable due to feeding difficulties associated with disabilities. Aim & Objective: To investigate factors associated with feeding difficulties in children with/without disabilities. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional analytical study was undertaken in the rural field practice area of a medical college in Karnataka. Methods and Material: Data collected on 145 children with disability and 145 neighbors/sibling/ classmates of the child using a pretested semi-structured questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS 20.0 Statistical analysis: Difficulties faced by feeding children with/without disabilities were expressed in percentages. Chi-square test was used to determine the association between feeding time, challenges encountered, and need for assistance p (<0.05). Results: The mothers mostly assisted feeding. Significant differences in need for support among children with disabilities 19 (13.5%) and without disabilities 3(2.1%) during meals and time taken to feed were seen. The most common difficulty was the improper position 13(9.0%) among children with disabilities. Conclusions: Mother is the significant person involved in feeding children with & without disabilities. Help in feeding, improper position of the child, vomiting tendency while feeding was more common with children with disabilities than without disabilities. Disabled children, Intellectual disability, Vomiting, Caregivers