Organizing health camp: Opportunities for building public health skills

Health camps are one of the commonly performed activities by different organizations with different intentions. The purpose ranges from reaching out to unreached populations to increasing client base and thus increasing revenue generation. A multi-speciality health camp was organised at Rural Health & Training Centre (RHTC), Mendhasala, Khurdha. We describe the camp profile and utilization of different specialties in this study. The camp was attended by mostly adults and elderly (90.3%) and inhabitants of the same village (80.5%). General medicine (30.6%) and orthopedics (31.9%) were the two specialties most consulted at the said camp. The success of a health camp is described by the number of attendees, which looks only at resource utilization. We have documented the lessons learned from organizing a health camp from a public health learning point of view. A 10-point checklist is recommended for the successful organization of a health camp

Inventory management of drugs at a secondary level health-care center in Odisha

Introduction: Planning the recurring purchases in the pharmacy results in efficient functioning of a health-care facility. Limited studies have explored the inventory management at secondary-care settings. The objective of this study was to analyze the annual drug expenditure of Community Health Centre (CHC), Tangi during the year 2017-2018. Material and Methods: The annual procurement of, and expenditure incurred on drugs for financial year 2017-2018 drugs was analyzed at the secondary level CHC always, better, control (ABC) analysis, vital, essential, desirable (VED) analysis and combination matrix of ABC-VED which are inventory management techniques based on expenditure, criticality, and combination of both. Results: Total expenditure for the year 2017–2018 on 232 drugs was 4,606,487 rupees. According to ABC analysis, Category A, B and C constituted 8.6%, 19.4%, and 72% accounting for 70%, 20%, and 10% of the total expenditure. VED analysis showed 21%, 66%, 13% items as Vital, Essential, and Desirable, accounting for 14%, 67%, and 19% of annual expenditure. On ABC-VED matrix analysis, 24.1%, 66.8%, and 9.1% drugs were found to be Category A, B and C, accounting for 74.7%, 24.6%, and 0.7% of annual expenditure. Conclusion: ABC-VED matrix analysis can be used for effective management of inventory at a secondary level healthcare centre

Spectrum of population availing COVID-19 teleconsultation services during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study in a tertiary care center of Eastern India

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a defining situation globally, and the outpatient services were also affected due to the closure of many healthcare facilities. The study was conducted to know the spectrum of the population availing teleconsultation and their needs for consultation. A cross-sectional study conducted in AIIMS Bhubaneswar, India, from May 2021 to June 2021in which the beneficiaries availing of the COVID-19 teleconsultation service were taken as study was participants and a total of 423 participants participated in the study. The proportion of participants who availed of the services in the age group 20–39 years was 67.8%. The participants from the urban area were 81%. Very few or almost nil participation were observed in the category of semiskilled, unskilled, and unemployed occupations. The reasons for availing of teleconsultation services were, for the treatment of COVID-19 disease (45%), distressed consultation for the medication (21%), and seeking advice for testing (13%), related to COVID-19 vaccination (6%) and 9% consulted to know the prognosis of the disease. Steps should be taken to expand the teleconsultation services to the underserved rural community and the people with lower educational status

Prevalence of Psychiatric Morbidity and Alcohol use Disorders Among Adolescent Indigenous Tribals from Three Indian States

Background: Among the Indian adolescents, the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and alcohol use disorders (AUD) are 7.3% and 1.3%. However, no separate data are available for indigenous tribal populations. This study estimated the prevalence of psychiatric morbidity and AUD and associated socio-demographic factors among adolescents in the tribal communities in three widely varying states in India. Methods: Using validated Indian versions of the MINI 6.0, MINI Kid 6.0, and ICD-10 criteria, we conducted a cross-sectional survey from January to May 2019 in three Indian sites: Valsad, Gujarat (western India); Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu (south India); and East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya (north-east India) on 623 indigenous tribal adolescents. Results: Aggregate prevalence of any psychiatric morbidity was 15.9% (95% CI: 13.1–19.0) (males: 13.6%, 95% CI: 10.0–18.1; females: 17.9%, 95% CI: 13.9–22.6), with site-wise statistically significant differences: Gujarat: 23.8% (95% CI: 18.1–30.2), Meghalaya: 17.1% (95% CI: 12.4–22.7), Tamil Nadu: 6.2% (95% CI: 3.2–10.5). The prevalence of diagnostic groups was mood disorders 6.4% ( n = 40), neurotic- and stress-related disorders 9.1% ( n = 57), phobic anxiety disorder 6.3% ( n = 39), AUD 2.7% ( n = 17), behavioral and emotional disorders 2.7% ( n = 17), and obsessive-compulsive disorder 2.2% ( n = 14). These differed across the sites. Conclusion: The prevalence of psychiatric morbidity in adolescent tribals is approximately twice the national average. The most common psychiatric morbidities reported are mood (affective) disorders, neurotic- and stress-related disorders, phobic anxiety disorder, AUD, behavioral and emotional disorders, andobsessive-compulsive disorder

Hospital-Based Contact Tracing of Patients With COVID-19 and Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Eastern India: Cross-sectional Study

BackgroundThe contact tracing and subsequent quarantining of health care workers (HCWs) are essential to minimizing the further transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and mitigating the shortage of HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic situation. ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the yield of contact tracing for COVID-19 cases and the risk stratification of HCWs who are exposed to these cases. MethodsThis was an analysis of routine data that were collected for the contact tracing of COVID-19 cases at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, in Odisha, India. Data from March 19 to August 31, 2020, were considered for this study. COVID-19 cases were admitted patients, outpatients, or HCWs in the hospital. HCWs who were exposed to COVID-19 cases were categorized, per the risk stratification guidelines, as high-risk contacts or low-risk contacts ResultsDuring contact tracing, 3411 HCWs were identified as those who were exposed to 360 COVID-19 cases. Of these 360 cases, 269 (74.7%) were either admitted patients or outpatients, and 91 (25.3%) were HCWs. After the risk stratification of the 3411 HCWs, 890 (26.1%) were categorized as high-risk contacts, and 2521 (73.9%) were categorized as low-risk contacts. The COVID-19 test positivity rates of high-risk contacts and low-risk contacts were 3.8% (34/890) and 1.9% (48/2521), respectively. The average number of high-risk contacts was significantly higher when the COVID-19 case was an admitted patient (number of contacts: mean 6.6) rather than when the COVID-19 case was an HCW (number of contacts: mean 4.0) or outpatient (number of contacts: mean 0.2; P=.009). Similarly, the average number of high-risk contacts was higher when the COVID-19 case was admitted in a non–COVID-19 area (number of contacts: mean 15.8) rather than when such cases were admitted in a COVID-19 area (number of contacts: mean 0.27; P<.001). There was a significant decline in the mean number of high-risk contacts over the study period (P=.003). ConclusionsContact tracing and risk stratification were effective and helped to reduce the number of HCWs requiring quarantine. There was also a decline in the number of high-risk contacts during the study period. This indicates the role of the implementation of hospital-based, COVID-19–related infection control strategies. The contact tracing and risk stratification approaches that were designed in this study can also be implemented in other health care settings

Community Visioning for Marysville, Kansas: A three-part study comprised of a housing conditions inventory, city-wide brownfield redevelopment concepts, and ideas for transforming the Union Pacific Depot site into a regional destination

The Marysville Chamber of Commerce and Visitor’s Center and the City of Marysville collaborated with Kansas State University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional & Community Planning (LARCP) and K-State’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) for the spring and fall semesters in 2019. The intent of the collaboration was threefold: to document housing assets in the community, generate a set of strategic urban design ideas, and develop site planning alternatives for the Union Pacific Depot brownfield site. The effort was co-led by Associate Professor Blake Belanger and Assistant Professor Susmita Rishi. Professor Rishi and her students conducted a housing conditions inventory as part of PLAN650 Housing and Development Programs in the spring semester of 2019. She directed a different group of students to develop a set of urban design strategies in the fall semester of 2019 in PLAN640 Urban Design and Development Seminar. Also, during fall 2019, Professor Belanger led a group of students in LAR442 Site Research and Design Studio to develop design alternatives for the historic Union Pacific Train Depot site and adjacent parcels. Students shared their findings of PLAN640 and LAR442 in a public exhibit and open house on November 6, 2019. The agreement was mutually beneficial. Marysville leaders and decision-makers received fresh ideas, and students had the opportunity to work with external collaborators on a community engagement project. The City of Marysville funded the housing inventory during Phase 1 of the project and K-State TAB funded Phase 2 through an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Small Community Technical Assistance Grant (SCTAG) from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). In addition to the student work, Sustainable Strategies DC prepared a Resource Roadmap and TAB provided a summary of the November 6, 2019 public open house. In total, the contributors included 2 professors, 57 students, and 2 professionals