Indian Journal of Community Medicine最新文献

Background: Optimal infant and young child feeding (IYCF) practices are crucial for children's health and survival, protecting against diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI). Despite strong evidence, breastfeeding and complementary feeding rates remain low. This study aimed to assess IYCF practices among mothers and identify associated morbidities in children.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 mothers of children aged 0-24 months at the Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, using convenience sampling over 2 months (October-November 2023). Data were collected via a pretested semi-structured questionnaire based on WHO IYCF indicators and analyzed using SPSS software version 20.

Results: The study found that 57.75% of mothers initiated breastfeeding within the first hour of delivery, and 49% practiced exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged 0-6 months. However, only 28.6% met minimum dietary diversity (MDD), 13.2% met minimum meal frequency, and 13.2% achieved a minimum acceptable diet. Exclusive breastfeeding was significantly associated with lower incidence of diarrhea (P ≤ 0.0001) and ARTIs (P < 0.0001). Bottle feeding was linked to higher rates of diarrhea (P = 0.002) and ARTIs (P = 0.04). Diarrhea was also significantly associated with inadequate dietary diversity (P = 0.02) and sweetened beverage intake (P = 0.0002).

Conclusion: The findings highlight the link between inadequate feeding practices and increased risk of diarrhea and respiratory infections. Immediate interventions, including health worker training and community nutrition programs, are essential to enhance maternal knowledge and improve infant feeding practices, ultimately reducing childhood illnesses.

Background and objectives: Postnatal morbidities if present adversely affect the health of the mother and baby, these being more in women residing in urban slums. The utilization of antenatal and postnatal care may act as factors to help curb these morbidities. Hence, this study was planned to estimate the prevalence of self-reported postpartum morbidity and its determinants among women aged 18-49 years and find the association between utilization of antenatal care and postnatal care received and morbidities reported.

Materials and methods: This was a cross-sectional study in the urban slums of Bhubaneswar over two years including 210 consenting postnatal women in the age group of 18-49 years using a two-stage stratified cluster sampling technique. A semi-structured pretested questionnaire was used for data collection which was entered into a Microsoft Excel sheet and analyzed using SPSS software. Multinomial logistic regression was used to ascertain independent association and a P value of < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Results: The prevalence of self-reported postnatal morbidities was found to be 57.62%. Occupation of the spouse, number of ANCs received, and laboratory investigations conducted during the antenatal period were found to be statistically significant. The illiteracy of the study participant and the occupation of the spouse were found as statistically significant in the multinomial logistic regression model.

Conclusion: The postnatal morbidities were found to be high which reemphasises the importance of antenatal and postnatal care. Some ANC variables were found to contribute to the postnatal morbidities which when addressed timely can help curb these morbidities.

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 609 publications on health initiatives and the Government of India using the Scopus database from 2003 to 2023. Findings indicate a significant upward trend in research, with a 50.24% annual growth rate. India and USA lead in global research output, with strong collaborations. Key journals and articles with high citation counts and H-index values were identified, with the Indian Journal of Medical Research being the most cited. Keyword analysis revealed four primary clusters: India, health programs, population groups, and communicable disease control. Recent research trends focus on "female," "adult," and "male" health, while "tuberculosis," "adolescent health," and "public health programs" and continue gaining prominence. Emerging topics include "middle-aged health" and "communicable disease control." India's health sector is transforming toward universal health coverage through policies like the National Health Policy 2017, aiming to increase public health expenditure to 2.5% of GDP by 2025. Key initiatives include expanding primary healthcare via Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, deploying Community Health Officers, and implementing digital health solutions under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. The AB-PMJAY scheme has significantly reduced healthcare costs for vulnerable populations, while CoWIN and investments in indigenous manufacturing demonstrate India's commitment to healthcare innovation. Limitations include reliance on Scopus, excluding PubMed and Google Scholar, and potential analytical constraints due to near-synonyms and duplicate entries. Despite these, this study offers valuable insights into India's health policy research, highlighting trends, collaborations, and emerging priorities. Future research should integrate multiple databases and advanced analytics to assess policy impact and regional disparities. This study serves as a foundational resource for understanding India's evolving health policy landscape.

In India, marriage is seen as a union between two families, not just individuals. Parental interference significantly contributes to marital discord and rising divorce rates. This review examines the extent of parental interference, its impact on marital stability and divorce rates, and the underlying sociocultural factors. A comprehensive search was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases for studies published between 2010 and 2023. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The review revealed a significant association between parental interference and marital instability, with an overall effect size (Hedges' g) of 0.65. Excessive parental involvement often leads to resentment, loss of privacy, and conflicts between couples, exacerbated by the husband's feelings of being overshadowed and the wife's divided loyalty. Parental interference significantly contributes to rising divorce rates in India, reflecting a shift towards individualism among younger generations. Traditional family structures and cultural norms encourage high parental involvement, often continuing due to economic dependencies and respect for elders. This leads to increased stress, anxiety, and emotional estrangement among couples. Legal implications involve misuse of protective provisions, leading to prolonged legal battles and social stigmatisation. Parental interference is a critical factor in marital instability and rising divorce rates in India. Promoting marital autonomy, educating families on boundaries, and implementing legal reforms can be beneficial in fostering healthier marriages.

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are unfavorable and harmful reactions to drugs used for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, or modifying normal body functioning.

Objective: The research examined nursing students' knowledge and perception of adverse medication responses and the impact of structured training interventions.

Methods: Single group pre and post-interventional study was conducted on nursing students using a questionnaire.

Results: Pretest group had the lowest mean knowledge score (56.84010, SD = 17.28675), whereas the post-test group displayed the highest mean score (69.17513, SD = 16.48941). After a duration of one month, the level of knowledge saw a reduction; however, it still remained greater than the level before the training. The mean knowledge was 59.16244 with SD of 18.26255.

Conclusions: The structured training program enhanced nursing students' ADR knowledge and perception.

Patients with type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) often experience reduced quality of life due to various clinical effects. Among these effects, sleep disturbances present a significant challenge, as type 2 DM individuals struggle to maintain healthy sleep patterns due to the physiological imbalances. This study aims to estimate the proportion of poor sleep quality and to study factors associated with poor sleep quality among the study population. A hospital-based cross sectional study was conducted in the Rural Health and Training Center, Mandur, Goa, India from January 2024 to March 2024. Participants were type 2 DM patients recruited using systematic random sampling. Among the participants, 139 (69.5%) were male, and 61 (30.5%) were female. The mean (±standard deviation) age was 52.1 ± 11.4 years. The overall proportion of poor sleep quality (PSQI score ≥5) was 120 (60%). Age, sex, Duration of diabetes, Body mass index (BMI) and presence of other co-morbidities were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. A significant proportion of type 2 DM patients experienced poor sleep quality, indicating the importance of integrating sleep hygiene into their care to enhance disease management and overall well-being.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is prevalent in the Indian Subcontinent and affects the patient in Financial, Health, Social, and Legal perspective. Developing the competencies related to SUDs among medical students posted in community medicine in integration with the Department of Psychiatry can help in increased identification of SUD, literacy, and referral for proper management of the patient. Hence, consideration should be given to emphasis on teaching the use and administration of WHO ASSIST (World Health Organization-Alcohol, Smoking, Substance Use Involvement in Screening Test), eliciting history, and describing the consequences of SUD to medical students.

Background: Indian tribes receive limited attention in provision of care toward non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As there has been an increasing prevalence of modifiable NCD risk factors among Indian tribes over the past three decades, the current study aimed to estimate the prevalence of NCD risk factors among the tribal population in Puducherry.

Methods: We conducted a community-based cross-sectional survey to assess NCD risk factors in the period January-December of 2018. We purposively selected the survey location and adopted a systematic random sampling technique using alternative households to enroll tribal participants; children less than 5 years were excluded from the study. Data collection was carried out by trained research associates regarding sociodemographic parameters, health status, and disease profile.

Results: The median age of participants was 28 (17-42) years, with the majority being females (58.8%). The prevalence of current tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and hypertension were 22.6% (95% CI: 19.2-26.3), 18.7% (95% CI: 15.5-22.2), and 9.1% (95% CI: 6.9-11.8), respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was found to be 14.7% and 32.1%, respectively. The prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use was significantly higher among the elderly and males. The risk of having hypertension was twofold higher among the male tribes by PR: 2.10 (95% CI: 1.19-3.68) compared with female.

Conclusion: The study concludes that there is a higher prevalence of behavioral and biological risk factors of NCDs among the tribal population in and around Puducherry.