Kerala’s gendered response to the Pandemic

“This paper draws attention to the gendered responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the state of Kerala. Having been cautioned by the previous contagions like the Nipa Virus, Kerala had a different story to tell from the rest of India in terms of disaster-preparedness and response. “ “Based on the management of the pandemic during the first few months of its inception, the paper gives us a significant insight into the disaster-management strategy, where the significant role played by women helped prevent a major public health disaster in a state with a high density of population.

Gender, Value, and Signification: Women and Television in Kerala

In a context where despite high levels of literacy and economic independence, women in Kerala are still expected to conform to conservative standards of docility, obedience and family-oriented (at the cost of their own happiness), the author surveys the impact of prime time television's impact on a sample of urban of rural women. Identifying television as an accessible media in the private sphere for women, the study critically evaluates the content of serials and commercials targeting women in terms of their gender stereotyping and their representations of the ideal woman. The study points to the popular representation of tradition-bound women who gain approval and acceptance through suffering (rather than resistance), the negative messages communicated through commercials regarding women, and the gender insensitivity of television programs around discussions of women's issues, as well as the use of women as alluring props, rather than as thinking beings.Feminism, Television, Media Studies, Women, gender

The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator: development and validation of a tool for identifying African surgical patients at risk of severe postoperative complications

Background: The African Surgical Outcomes Study (ASOS) showed that surgical patients in Africa have a mortality twice the global average. Existing risk assessment tools are not valid for use in this population because the pattern of risk for poor outcomes differs from high-income countries. The objective of this study was to derive and validate a simple, preoperative risk stratification tool to identify African surgical patients at risk for in-hospital postoperative mortality and severe complications. Methods: ASOS was a 7-day prospective cohort study of adult patients undergoing surgery in Africa. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator was constructed with a multivariable logistic regression model for the outcome of in-hospital mortality and severe postoperative complications. The following preoperative risk factors were entered into the model; age, sex, smoking status, ASA physical status, preoperative chronic comorbid conditions, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. Results: The model was derived from 8799 patients from 168 African hospitals. The composite outcome of severe postoperative complications and death occurred in 423/8799 (4.8%) patients. The ASOS Surgical Risk Calculator includes the following risk factors: age, ASA physical status, indication for surgery, urgency, severity, and type of surgery. The model showed good discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.805 and good calibration with c-statistic corrected for optimism of 0.784. Conclusions: This simple preoperative risk calculator could be used to identify high-risk surgical patients in African hospitals and facilitate increased postoperative surveillance. © 2018 British Journal of Anaesthesia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Medical Research Council of South Africa gran