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A barrier to meeting the goal of universal health coverage in India is the inequality in utilisation of health services between indigenous and non-indigenous people. This study aimed to explore the determinants of utilisation, or non-utilisation, of public healthcare services among the Santals, an indigenous community living in West Bengal, India. The study holistically explored the utilisation of public healthcare facilities using a framework that conceptualised service coverage to be dependent on a set of determinants – viz. the nature and severity of the ailment, availability, accessibility (geographical and financial), and acceptability of the healthcare options and decision-making around these further depends on background characteristics of the individual or their family/household. This cross-sectional study adopts ethnographic approach for detailed insight into the issue and interviewed 422 adult members of Santals living in both rural (Bankura) and urban (Howrah) areas of West Bengal for demographic, socio-economic characteristics and healthcare utilisation behaviour using pre-tested data collection schedule. The findings revealed that utilisation of the public healthcare facilities was low, especially in urban areas. Residence in urban areas, being female, having higher education, engaging in salaried occupation and having availability of private allopathic and homoeopathic doctors in the locality had higher odds of not utilising public healthcare services. Issues like misbehaviour from the health personnel, unavailability of medicine, poor quality of care, and high patient load were reported as the major reasons for non-utilisation of public health services. The finding highlights the importance of improving the availability and quality of care of healthcare services for marginalised populations because these communities live in geographically isolated places and have low affordability of private healthcare. The health programme needs to address these issues to improve the utilisation and reduce the inequality in healthcare utilisation, which would be beneficial for all segments of Indian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dust pollution is common in Indian roads and several industrial settings (including mines) that affects human health. Identification and characterization of the dust particles in the mining area is essential for knowing the properties of the dust that effectively causes ailments to humans, particularly among workers those who are working in unorganized industrial settings. The present study aimed to determine the level of dust pollution and to know the size and characterize the dust particles in the Pachami-Hatgacha stone mine areas of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India. Dust samples were collected and analysed for Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) to determine the size and shape of the particles, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) to determine the free silica content, and X-ray Florence (XRF) analysis for quantitative estimation of components in the sample. All the analyses were done following standard instrumentation and techniques. The size of the dust particles was much less (ranges 101–298 nm) than the size of respirable particles (2500 nm). Those were mostly generated as well as precipitated during peak working hours of the day. Presence of considerable amounts of silica was confirmed by the FT-IR (strong and broad band at 1000 cm−1) and XRF analysis (76.85% SiO2). Exposure to these dust particles may cause severe health impairments. Therefore, interventions like wet drilling and blasting, sprinkling of water during peak working hours, and awareness of use of personal protective devices among workers are required to reduce the risk and hazards associated with dust pollution to the health of miners and inhabitants around the mines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: It is well documented that nutritional status is essential for better productivity and overall health and well-being of the population and the nation at large. However, a large section of workers particularly in developing countries were still lagging behind the satisfactory level in nutritional condition that needs to be addressed. Therefore, the aim of the study was to compare the nutritional status and its concomitants between two contrasting occupational groups. Methods: Cross-sectional data on selected anthropometric, socio-economic variables, energy intake and expenditure were collected from 204 adult Santal participants, who were engaged as stone mine work and agricultural work. Results: Most of the anthropometric traits were similar between two groups, irrespective of sex except MUAC, WC and HC were greater among stone mine workers compared to the agricultural workers. Around 27% of males and 60% females of stone mine workers and around 40% of males and 34% females of agricultural workers suffer from chronic energy deficiency. Nutritional status of stone mine workers was influenced by education and calorie expenditure. Again, nutritional status of agricultural workers was influenced by economic condition and calorie expenditure. Conclusion: The study indicated that a considerable number of participants irrespective of occupation suffer from chronic energy deficiency. Education, economic condition and calorie expenditure of the participants are likely to influence nutritional status of both the labourer population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malnutrition (underweight and overweight) is regarded as a risk factor for several cardio-vascular morbidity and mortality. Indigenous groups, due to their daily hardship and poverty, generally remain underweight, but recent studies reported that prevalence of overweight is increasing among them. However, the studies are still scanty. In view, the aims of the study are to know the nutritional status in terms of BMI values and to find out the association between socio-economic status, lifestyle variables with underweight and overweight status of the Oraon of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Findings reveal the presence of both underweight and overweight in the population where lifestyle variables play a significant role. The study will contribute to explore the lifestyle of this indigenous group and its role in eradicating malnutrition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In India, population diversity plays a major role to create variation in socio-demographic, cultural and lifestyle factors which contribute to unique demographic scenario among populations. However, not much emphasis has been given to investigate the relationship of socio-demographic factors with fertility and mortality scenario among indigenous groups of northern West Bengal. Objectives: Study attempted to see the effect of socio-demographic factors on women’s fertility and under-five mortality among the Oraons. Materials and Method: Data on socio-demographic characteristics, fertility and mortality were collected from 445 ever-married women. Descriptive statistics, binary logistic regression and Cox proportion hazard analysis were performed. Results: Total fertility rate in the study group was 3.19 live births per woman and under-five mortality rate was 9.77 death per 100 live births. Educational status of women (p=0.002), household size (p<0.001), age (p=0.001) and marital age of women (p=0.020) significantly determined women’s fertility. Educational status of women (p=0.034), women’s practice of defecation (p=0.014), Marital age of women (p=0.046) and birth order of the child (p=0.031) significantly determined under-five mortality. Conclusion: Study highlighted that women married before 18 years and with no institutional education were more likely to experience high fertility and high under-five mortality. Absence of pit latrine in household and child’s birth order also significantly determined under-five mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low haemoglobin level or anaemia is a health problem worldwide especially in developing countries like India. Anaemia is generally higher among indigenous groups compared to general population globally and females are specifically more prone to anaemia. However, studies are inadequate on indigenous groups of India. The aims of the study are to determine the prevalence of anaemia among the female Oraons of North 24 Parganas and to study the association between anaemia and concomitants like socio-demographic and food habit variables. Data have been collected on demographic, socio-economic and food habit variables using well-tested questionnaire from 309 Oraon females living in rural and urban areas of North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Haemoglobin data were collected using standard instrument and technique. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data using SPSS version 16.0. Females of rural and urban areas were mostly married and non-literate, employed as labourers and had sedentary occupations. Majority of them consume fruits and vegetables but less animal protein and dairy product. Around 80% of the females were anaemic, irrespective of their habitat, socio-economic status and food habits. Anaemic status was associated with insufficient intake of animal protein, which is significantly associated with the anaemia status of the females in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fertility and under-five mortality are considered as key health indicators of a population. Both the fertility and under-five mortality varies accross countries, regions, ethnic groups and so on, which may bedue to disparities in socio-economic and cultural factors. The study aimed to better understanding the association of fertility and under-five mortality with selected socio-economic characteristics of the Santal labourer group of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Cross-sectional data have been collected on fertility, mortality and socio-economic characteristics from 627 ever-married Santal women. Descriptive statistics, multivariate logistic regression and Cox proportion hazard analysis have been done. Total fertility rate (TFR) of the present study group was 2.9 and the mortality rate was 105.1. In the present study, educational status, age and household size of the women have significant association with fertility. Under-five mortality has significant association with educational status of mother and birth order of the children. The study indicated that education was the one of the important factors (socio-economic characters) that had most significant impact on both fertility and under-five mortality of the Santal labourer group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung function measurement is one of the ways of assessing respiratory health status. Stone mine workers are prone to lung problems due to stone dust, are a great concern from public health point of view. The aim of the study was to understand the nature of age related changes in lung function traits of the Santal stone mine workers of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Cross-sectional data on lung function traits including FVC, FEV1.0, FEV1.0/FVC and PEFR have been collected from 328 (149 males, 179 females) healthy adult Santal stone mine workers of Birbhum district, West Bengal. Statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, ANOVA and linear regression analysis were done separately for males and females for each lung function trait. The value of FVC and FEV1.0 reaches its peak within 25 years of age and then gradually decreases in both sexes. Similarly, the FEV1.0/ FVC ratio decrease with the increment of age in both sexes. The peak value of PEFR reaches between 25-34 years of age in male, but in case of female the peak value of PEFR reaches between 35-44 years of age. The ANOVA result showed that significant differences (P≤0.05) exists between/among age cohorts in terms of mean values of all the lung function traits for both males and females. The result of linear regression equation for lung function traits on age were as follows: FVCmale=3.168-0.015xage, FVCfemale=2.214-0.012xage, FEV1.0male=3.119- 0.021xage, FEV1.0female=2.111-0.013xage, FEV1.0/FVCmale=1.004-0.003xage, FEV1.0/FVCfemale=0.953+0.0006xage, PEFRmale=8.649-0.064xage, PEFRfemale=4.690- 0.014xage. Therefore, it seems that lung function traits gradually decline with progression of age and the pattern is similar in both sexes. However, generalization cannot be made out of this small-scale study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life table calculation of small populations, especially of marginal populations, is difficult due to a small number of death records and lack of a systematic birth and death registry. The present study aimed to calculate a life table of a small sample of Santal population from Beliatore area of the Bankura district, West Bengal, India, using the recall method. The data on birth and death events were collected using house-to-house interviewing and cross-checking the data with reference to the significant events of the area and the family. The life table was calculated from age specific death rate of a closed population retrospectively estimated for 10 years. The calculated life expectancy at birth of the study population was 63.9 years with a standard error of 3.15 years. The finding agrees with the life expectancy of the other larger populations of the region, although calculated using conventional methods. The method needs to be evaluated to get the optimum number of death events required for calculating the life table with an acceptable error level. The study will be helpful for comparisons of overall health status of small populations with respect to time and space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

\Objectives: Self-rated health (SRH) is considered as a subjective measure of health and widely used in population surveys. The present study aimed to see the socio-demographic characteristics and reported morbidity wise variation of self-rated health and to examine the association between socio-demographic characteristics and self-rated health of the rural Santals. Methods: Using a standard household census schedule socio-demographic data were collected from 425 adult Santals of both sexes of Bankura district, West Bengal. SRH data were collected asking people to choose their current health status within five possible options: 'very good,' 'good,' 'average,' 'bad,' and 'very bad.' Univariate and multivariate forward stepwise logistic regression analyses used to examine the association between SRH and sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Majority of the study participant rated their health as 'average' followed by 'bad,' 'good,' and 'very bad' irrespective of sex. Results of univariate logistic regression analyses showed that SRH has significant association with age group, level of education, occupation types, marital status, house type, and sex. Elderly (OR= 6.78) and middle-aged (OR=2.52) individuals were more likely to report 'bad' health compared to young individuals. Participants with formal education i.e. from primary level (OR= 0.42) to higher secondary and above (OR= 0.04) were less likely to report 'bad' health compared to nonliterate participants. Unmarried people (OR= 0.36) were less likely to report 'bad' health, while widowed/ divorced/ separated individuals (OR = 2.87) were more likely to report 'bad' health compared to married individuals. Males (OR= 0.67) were less likely to report 'bad' SRH than females. Conclusion: SRH cannot be used as single item measure of health because such rating is always influenced by several socio-demographic factors especially among socioeconomically disadvantageous community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is scarcity of health information in many subpopulations in India, which needs to be explored for formulating effective public health policy. Studies on the tea garden population revealed that poor socioeconomic conditions, ignorance due to illiteracy, culture and food habit, overcrowding, and unhygienic living conditions make the population vulnerable to various communicable and noncommunicable diseases and malnutrition. Data were collected from the labourers of Birpara and Dalgaon tea gardens of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal. The objective was to identify the primary health care available vis-à-vis the health problems. The results were based on mortality data, subjective well-being, frequency of ailment symptoms, perceived health status, and selected health practices as well as some observations, which indicate their cognition and threshold regarding health problems, presented as case studies. Mortality rates were high in the population; comparative mortality data shows no considerable change in mortality rate over time and space. A very high frequency of anaemia was prevalent among females along with sore throat and abdominal pain. Perceived health status of most of the people was good, although that was not always true, because the perception of the people often depends on their threshold and cognition about health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational health deals with diseases or injuries caused due to work. Different types of work cause different types of ill-effect on health and may cause changes in health traits; empirical studies on the issues are scanty. The present study aims to investigate the differences in selected health traits between two occupational groups of the same ethnic origin. Cross-sectional data collected on 357 adult Oraon labourers engaged in two different occupations, namely, agriculture and brickfield in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, of which are 62 male and 43 female agricultural labourers and 136 male and 116 female brickfield labourers. Data consists of anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, and haemoglobin traits. Health status assessed in terms of BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and haemoglobin level following standard cut-off values. Mean values of both the occupational groups show similar trends in case of selected anthropometric and health traits. Individuals are ecto-mesomorphic irrespective of sex and occupation. Majority of individuals of either sex of both the occupational groups are underweight but hypertensive. In anthropological data, the trend of mean values is important than mere statistical significance. Data indicates that both the occupational groups have similar health condition, maybe due to their heavy manual activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of the present study are to find out the differences (if any} in health traits between/among socio-economic groups of Bishnupriya Manipuris and to find out the sensitive health traits which create the differences between socio-economic groups. Results of health traits indicate that individuals have normal BMI with low systolic and diastolic blood pressure and high frequency of anaemia. ANOVA results do not show any significant difference between/ among socio-economic groups. Socio-economic groups show significant differences in anthropometric traits. Health traits so far considered in the study fail to show sensitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Body weight is a good indicator of a person's size and is widely used in clinical assessment. However, health-status assessment based on observed body weight (WO) is incorrect for persons with limb amputation. Objectives: The objectives were 1) to develop a more accurate and generalized method for estimating body weight in persons with limb amputation, 2) to determine whether corrected body weight can be used to assess nutritional status in persons with limb amputation, and 3) to test the validity of the estimation by using empirical data. Design: Anthropometric data were collected from men from Calcutta and adjoining areas with unilateral lower-extremity amputation (n = 102). Mathematic formulas were developed for determining estimated body weight (WE) and body mass index (BMI) calculated from both WO and WE (ie, BMIO and BMIE, respectively). We assessed nutritional status by using BMIO and BMIE and tested the validity of each by considering the result of nutritional assessment from midupper arm circumference as the gold standard. We also compared the nutritional status results for the subjects with limb amputation with those for a similar sample size of healthy control subjects. Results: BMIE had a stronger association with midupper arm circumference and a higher efficiency (ie, proportion of correct results given by any test method) than did BMIO. Moreover, the results obtained with BMIE were similar to those obtained with BMI in healthy control subjects. However, the nutritional assessments made with BMIO and BMIE did not differ significantly from one another. Conclusion: Forpersons with limb amputation, WE provides a better basis for appropriate nutritional evaluation than does WO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the factors affecting work productivity of Oraon agricultural laborers in West Bengal, India. Relationship between morphological variation and work productivity; Association of nutritional status with work productivity; Productivity predictors of males.

The article presents an anthropological study of the Lepchas, Sherpas, Oraons, and Mahishyas of West Bengal, India in terms of their different food practices. It presents various charts denoting the intake of the food, the nutrients in the food, and demographic characteristics of each group. It desribes the contributions of nutrition to the field of anthropology.

Data on daily work-output (kg of leaves plucked) of Oraon pluckers in tea gardens of Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India, are analysed. While on any particular day of the week there is no significant difference in work-output of males and females, there is a significant between-day variation in work-output for both sexes. Mean work-output steadily decreases as the week progresses, perhaps due to the cumulative effect of fatigue. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]