Health-seeking behaviour among antenatal and postnatal rural women in Kancheepuram District of Tamil Nadu: A cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Maternal morbidity and mortality is still a major public health challenge. Lack of proper birth plan and delay in identification of pregnancy complications is one of the major causes of maternal morbidities and deaths, especially in the rural areas. Aim: The study was conducted with the aim to evaluate the health-seeking behaviour for obstetric care services among the antenatal and postnatal mothers in a rural area of Tamil Nadu. Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among antenatal and postnatal mothers registered in the Rural Health Training Centre, in Sripuram area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu during 2017. About 150 antenatal and 150 postnatal mothers were selected by simple random sampling method. A pre-tested structured questionnaire was used to collect relevant data which was analysed using the SPSS version 22. Results: Only 21% of the study participants had adequate knowledge regarding the danger signs of pregnancy and the major determinants were maternal literacy and adequate prenatal care. Regarding the health-seeking behaviour, 62.3% of them preferred primary health centres as preferred place of delivery, 87.3% of them had received adequate prenatal care and it was found to have statistically significant association with adequate gestational weight gain, exclusive breastfeeding, proper weaning practices and consumption of iron and folic acid supplements. Conclusion: The study shows the need to provide health education regarding the danger signs of pregnancy and importance of adequate prenatal care to all pregnant women and expectant mothers, to make them aware of when and how to seek medical care, which in turn could reduce the overall maternal morbidity and mortality

Epidemiology of alcohol consumption in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu

Introduction: In India, the ever increasing production, promotion, distribution, and the easy availability and accessibility of alcohol together with the changing values in the society have resulted in alcohol consumption becoming one of the major public health problems. Aims: The study was undertaken to find out the prevalence of alcohol consumption and its epidemiological determinants in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was done among adult males above 18 years of age in Anakaputhur area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu. Simple random sampling method was used to select the study participants to reach the required sample size of 400. Pretested structured questionnaire was used as study tool to collect data regarding alcohol consumption practices. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. Results: The prevalence of alcohol consumption among the study participants was found to be 39%. The major determinants of alcohol consumption which were found to be statistically significant were age less than 45 years, those belonging to a nuclear family, those who consume tobacco, consumption of alcohol by family members, those who did not receive advice regarding harmful effects of alcohol from family members, those having stigma of being a nondrinker among friends/peers and those having awareness of health problems caused due to alcohol consumption. Conclusion: This study shows that it is high time we change the approach of educating the public about the effects of alcohol consumption by intensive behavioral change continuum activities at a younger age group, coupled with encouraging refusal skills to overcome peer pressure

Evaluating the effectiveness of ‘AETCOM Module’ on the medical interns posted in peripheral health centres of a tertiary care medical college in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu

Introduction: Effective communication skills between doctor and patient leads to enhanced patient satisfaction, better compliance to treatment and improved health outcomes. Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of Attitude, Ethics and Communication (AETCOM) module in improving the communication skills of the interns posted in peripheral health centres after methodical training and approach. Methods: A Module based interventional study was conducted among the medical interns posted in in the months of December 2019 and February 2020 at Rural Health Training Center (RHTC) and Urban Health Training Center (UHTC). The tool used to assess the interns was Kalamazoo Essential Element Communication checklist (KEEC) based on Kalamazoo Consensus Statement (KCS) comprising 7 components. Statistical Analysis: The difference in the means of pre test scores and post test scores were analyzed for statistical significance using Paired T test (p value < 0.05 considered significant). Results: The post-test scores were higher when compared to the pre-test scores with regard to batch, gender, mother tongue, center where the interns were posted and type of batch and these findings were statistically significant. Females had better competencies of opening discussion, understanding the patient's perspective, reaching agreement and providing appropriate enclosure to discussion than males and it was found to be statistically significant. Conclusion: AETCOM Module is effective in improving the communication skills of the medical students, which in turn will prevent malpractices and litigations against doctors in the near future