Attitude to Medication and Insight in Patients with Schizophrenia.

INTRODUCTION : Schizophrenia, with an approximate lifetime risk of 1 in 100, and an annual incidence of 0.5 to 5.0 per 10,000, is one of the leading causes of disability in the world. As per the assessment of leading cause of years lived with disability, worldwide statistics showed that schizophrenia ranks ninth in the order among various other disorders that causes disability to an individual. OBJECTIVES : 1. To assess the level of insight and attitude towards medication in patients with chronic Schizophrenia. 2. To determine factors associated with insight and attitude to medication in patients with chronic schizophrenia. 3. To determine the relationship between insight and attitude to medication in this group of patients with chronic schizophrenia. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of insight into the illness and attitude towards medication of consenting patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia using the schedule for assessment of insight (SAIE) and drug attitude inventory (DAI). Clinical assessment of psychopathology using PANSS and assessment of treatment adherence using subjective (Morisky Scale) and objective (chart review) were done to supplement assessment of relation between severity of illness, insight, attitude towards medications and compliance to medications in consecutively recruited outpatients. Data was analyzed using chi square statistics for significant association with a corresponding p value of less than 0.05 suggesting statistically significant association between the variables. RESULTS: All the 101 patients suffering from chronic schizophrenia were found to be mild to moderately ill in terms of psychopathology and had good to moderate insight into their illness. Those who had good insight into their illness expectedly had a favorable attitude towards medications. The degree of psychopathology was inversely correlated with insight into the illness and compliance to medications. Compliance to medications is a larger complex construct which seems to be affected by the severity of illness; however neither good insight into the illness nor a favorable attitude towards medications seems to significantly alter the rates of compliance to treatment. CONCLUSIONS : In this study population of patients with schizophrenia who regularly attend the outpatient department, the majority were females, aged less than 35, married, unemployed, belonging to the low socio economic class, residing in the rural areas, Hindu by religion, having a continuous course of disorder with mild severity, manifesting good insight, noncompliant with medication as per the Morisky scale and compliant as per the chart review and with no physical comorbidity or substance use or family history of any psychiatric morbidity. There was significant negative correlation between the total insight score as per SAI E and the total PANSS ( p value 0.007). Majority of patients (95 %) of this study population had a favourable attitude to medication. PANSS severity and Drug attitude inventory (DAI 10) showed a negative association (p value =0.001) in that the more the psychopathology the less favourable was the attitude towards medication. According to the Morisky scale, the patients were less compliant regardless of the psychopathology as assessed by PANSS (0.046). As per the chart review however it was seen that patients with mild psychopathology were more compliant compared to those patients with moderate psychopathology. (p=0.047). PANSS score was associated with insight, attitude to medication and compliance as assessed by the different tools. However insight was not related to compliance or attitude to medication

SMART MEDICAL ASSIST BOT: REVOLUTIONIZING PATIENT CARE IN ISOLATED HOSPITAL WARDS

n hospitals, preliminary health assessments are typically performed by doctors, involving direct physical contact with patients. This practice not only exposes healthcare workers to potential infectious diseases but also consumes valuable time that could be better spent on critical cases. Routine checks, which could be automated, often contribute to longer patient wait times and reduced overall efficiency in hospital operations. The COVID-19 pandemic has further emphasized the importance of minimizing human-to-human contact, with the World Health Organization (WHO) advocating for social distancing and contactless interaction to prevent the spread of the virus. This situation highlights a pressing need for innovative solutions that maintain highquality care while reducing direct physical contact. This project addresses the challenge by developing an Autonomous Smart Medical Assistant Robot capable of performing contactless preliminary health testing. Designed to automate routine assessments, the robot significantly reduces doctors’ workload, improves hospital workflow, and enhances patient management. It has been precisely designed and simulated using Autodesk Fusion 360, ensuring mechanical accuracy, while its control system is programmed using the Arduino IDE, allowing seamless integration of health-monitoring sensors and autonomous functionality. Beyond health assessments, the robot also provides emotional support to patients and can be used for the transport of medical supplies between healthcare providers and patients. This multifunctional capability not only enhances safety by limiting unnecessary exposure but also introduces operational efficiency and emotional care into medical settings. The implementation of this robot represents a step toward smarter, safer, and more compassionate healthcare environments

Field Visit Tracker: Geo-Tagged Inspections with Digital Signatures and Authentication for District Officials

The Field Visit Tracker is a comprehensive web and mobile-based solution developed to modernize and authenticate field inspection activities carried out by district-level government officials. Traditional manual methods of inspection are often plagued by inefficiencies, lack of transparency, and issues related to data manipulation. This application addresses these challenges by integrating real-time geo-tagging, digital signature capabilities, and secure authentication protocols. During a field visit, the application accurately records geographical coordinates and timestamps, thereby confirming the physical presence of the official at the inspection site. Furthermore, digital signature integration provides non-repudiable evidence of report authenticity, which significantly enhances the credibility of field reports. To ensure robust security, the system employs role-based access control combined with multi-factor authentication, thereby restricting unauthorized access and data tampering. All inspection data is stored in a secure, centralized repository, accessible to higher authorities through an interactive dashboard. This dashboard supports real-time monitoring, automated report generation, and analytics, facilitating informed decision-making and policy formulation. The application not only ensures operational transparency and accountability but also promotes efficiency by digitizing the end-to end inspection workflow. Designed with user-centric interfaces and scalable architecture, the Field Visit Tracker is a pivotal tool for enhancing governance in field-level administration and public service delivery

A case of virilising steroid cell tumour of ovary

A middle aged female patient presented to our Gynaec OPD with acute onset of virilising symptoms and vague abdominal pain. The patient’s biochemical values were normal except for a raised serum testosterone level and a raised CA125 level. Ultrasound and Computed tomography revealed an ovarian mass with mild ascites that appeared to be a yellowish solid ovarian tumour on gross examination. Microscopic examination showed a neoplasm composed of medium sized cells with clear cytoplasm and some with eosinophilic granular cytoplasm. The diagnosis of Benign steroid cell tumour of ovary, not otherwise specified (NOS-type) was made. The case is presented for its rarity